Rebel Yell
by Lord22
Summary: The Confederacy of Man verges on collapse. The Zerg are rampaging unchecked. Amidst all this, the Magistrate of Mar Sara, and the Marshall Jim Raynor, do what they can to ensure humanity has a future to make brighter.
1. Wasteland

**Chapter One: Wasteland**

The Magistrate was sorting through paperwork in his office when the call came down the line. Mar Sara was in chaos, with more and more reports filtering in daily of attacks. People were fleeing to the cities, and the Confederacy had done little enough to actually quell the threat of the xenomorphs who even now became increasingly more dangerous. The Protoss were coming any day now, and to top it all off he was responsible for 'controlling the Colonists state of panic' whatever that meant.

 _'_ _Adjutant Online.'_ said the Adjutant _'Good evening Magistrate, I'll fill you in on whats been happening: Confederate Traffic has increased substantially since the recent Protoss destruction of the Chau Sara colony. The Confederates have tightened security on all outlying systems and its likely that this colony will be locked down as well. An encrypted Confederate transmission came for you while you were at dinner.'_

'Patch it through.' He intoned.

 _'_ _Replaying transmission.'_

A portly, white haired man appeared on the screen. _'Greetings Magistrate, I'm General Edmund Duke of the Confederate Security Forces, Alpha Squadron. This Confederacy has quarantined this entire planet, and we'll proceed with the lockdown within 48 hours. You're to relocate your core colonists to the outlying wastelands. Now I know there won't be any problems with these new arrangements.'_

And that was it. The enlightened guidance of the Confederacy of Man had left the Magistrate in a stupor. 'Are you freaking kidding me? I have refugees from all over in this city, men, woman and children! How am I supposed to tell them to relocate into the middle of a wasteland in the beating sun without even the barest explanation of why they going! And what good is it going to do anyway? It certainly doesn't seem a particularly easy to defend territory. We already have a food shortage going on, and now you want me to start another trail of tears? Am I the only one who thinks this is a horrible plan?'

 _'_ _I have contacted the local Marshall, James Raynor.'_ supplied the Adjutant _'Raynor has agreed to meet your personal on route and escort them to the new wasteland sight.'_

'Fine.' said the Magistrate 'We'll follow orders. But we'll do so in our own way.' Then he began making arrangements, and took the better part of the afternoon doing so before he finally arranged an expedition. He set the message from Duke, and arranged for it to play over the loudspeakers in the city two hours after his departure.

He sent secret instructions to a number of officials, dictating them to begin moving people thirty minutes after the message played. Then he got moving.

* * *

The expedition to secure the evacuation sight consisted of fifty Marines and fifty SCV's. The Magistrate was among the marines, having dusted off his old marine suit for just such an occasion. 'Alright ladies and gentlemen, listen up! Our objective is to locate Marshall Raynor somewhere across this bridge. Once we've done that we'll arrange the setting up of a good sized base camp. Remember, there are going to be a lot of refugees filtering in here, and most of them will be city folk. They won't be mentally or physically equipped for this kind of life, so you need to be patient and help them adept.'

As they made their way over the bridge, one of the SCV's said what they were all thinking. 'Can't believe we're being sent to the wasteland. These Confederates think they can push anybody around.'

The Magistrate ignored him as they continued walking through the wasteland. Soon they encountered two great peaks, looming on either side of them. 'Behold, Perditions Crossing.' said the Magistrate 'Long has this location been a tourist attraction. Or at least a vaguely interesting rock formation.' They continued walked, and saw in the distance a man, leaning against a green painted Vulture. He looked up, and approached them, loosening his gun in his holster as he did so.

He was wearing a cowboy hat, and a heavy leather vest. His hair was cut to a buzz cut, and he had a slight stubble 'Howdy boys, I'm Jim Raynor. Marshall of these parts.'

The Magistrate, who already knew him, stared at the vulture which Raynor had been bragging about for the last three months. 'What a piece of junk!'

'Hey!' snapped Raynor defensively. 'No dissing the Vulture! She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts. I've made a lot of special modifications myself.' He patted the side of his prized vehicle, and leaped aboard. 'Now if your done snarking, we can get underway.'

'I suppose we might as well.' said the Magistrate as they continued south. Suddenly there was an ungodly chattering noise, and from around the base of a great dragon skeleton appeared two small beasts with razor sharp claws.

Raynor leapt into his bike and turned it round as the Magistrate and his men opened fire on the creatures. One fell mid stride, the other slashed at the Magistrates shoulder, before being blasted away by Raynor's pistol. His armor was badly torn, but it hadn't reached the skin.

'Lets keep moving.' said the Magistrate after a moment. 'The Command Center should be right about… here.'

It was surprisingly undamaged, all things considered. It had been set down next to mineral fields, and stood there empty. Raynor walked up next to him. 'So… how did you get the resources to buy a Command Center?'

'I fought in the Guild Wars, and was a complete miser with my wages and victory funds.' the Magistrate replied. 'Also Delta Squadron is extremely sloppy.' He motioned. 'Alright, all SCV's begin mining operations. We need enough minerals for the command center to produce parts for a barracks. Is that understood?'

'Yes sir.' Was the reply, and the SCV's immediately began work.

The Magistrate turned to Raynor. 'Raynor-'

'Go ahead Commander.'

'I want you to take the men and begin scouring this entire area for those creatures. Wipe them out wherever you find them. I want this area cleared by the time the refugees start coming in.'

'Gotcha, alright boys, follow me. We're going to hunt some xenos.'

'Good hunting.' said the Magistrate, before checking his resources on his wrist watch. The resources measurements were vaguely defined, designed more to be a rough indication of how much one had access too, rather than a precise number. He called an SCV. 'Begin construction of a barracks at my location.' He said, moving out of the radius, as the sound of gunfire echoed. An SCV moved past him, and began snapping together the parts.

The construction process for military buildings was one the Magistrate did not fully understand. It combined teleportation field technology, with cold fusion and subspace to allow the SCV to seemingly create parts out of thin air. The design for the Barracks itself was fairly simple, being a series of crossbeams and wires.

 _'_ _This is Raynor,'_ Said Jim _'we've cleared the plateau above you and the surrounding lands. From the looks of things there is a lot of Minerals here worth harvesting.'_

'Good work.' said the Magistrate 'Get repairs if you need them, then search on the opposite side of the canyon. Keep your eyes open.' He called up another SCV. 'You, I want a Supply Depot constructed over there. We need the refugees to have food and proper lodging when they arrive.' Supply depots were notable for being able to produce a nearly infinite amount of edible gray matter from virtually anything.

It was about this point that the refugees began to arrive. The Magistrate went to meet them. 'Welcome people of Mar Sara, to the refugee shelters.' He said 'As you can see there is a great deal that needs doing and we are rather short staffed at the moment. As such I'd like to ask for ten volunteers, between the ages of sixteen and forty. Please step forward.'

After a few moments, ten stepped forward. Some men, some woman, the Magistrate didn't care either way. 'Excellent, you are going to be our reinforcements. Report to the Barracks over there. The Adjutant will fill you in on getting suited up for duty.' They walked past him, looking for all the world quite lost. They had a long way to go. 'As for the rest of you, food and shelter can be found within the Command Center, and in a pinch, the Barracks and Supply Depots.

I may call upon you for volunteers to act as a SCV pilot, should I require them. Unfortunately according to Confederate Regulations we're not allowed to have more than Ten Marines per colony unless presented with a clear and present military engagement, no fighting, no swearing, no alcohol or smoking.

I'm not kidding. If I catch anyone drinking or smoking on my base I will have their brain chemistry altered so they never drink again. Any questions?'

'…Are we in outer space?' asked a small child.

'…Yes.' said the Magistrate in a dull tone.

'Horay! I'm an astronaut!'

'Technically speaking we all are.' replied the Magistrate.

Of course it didn't all end there. The process of outfitting the marines took time, and they still had to be taught to shoot straight. Several more supply depots were erected during this time, and the Magistrate ordered a new outpost to be set up on the High ground overlooking the Canyon, complete with a barracks.

Of course with a new Command Center and Barracks up there, it effectively meant that there were now two colonies in the Canyon, providing a legal loophole by which more Marines could be trained. He also commissioned more SCV's to mine the crystals on the cliffs above.

Meanwhile Raynor had successfully cleared a path north to Backwater Station, where there were a number of other Colonies with whom trade and contact could be made. Apparently there was a heavy base camp which wasn't on any records, set up to the north, though activity was a bit sparse.

'We've gotten more done today than we have in years.' muttered an Old Timer ruefully.

Now the Magistrate just had to make sure nobody starved to death. Supply depots were a wonderful thing, but he expected the food they replied would soon begin to stick in their throats. And wouldn't you know it, he was right.

* * *

Sarah Kerrigan had begun her analysis of the ranking officials on Mar Sara long before she went to meet up with Michael Liberty. Her conclusions were promising. Both were active commanders, who took an active role in their mens wellbeing. James Raynor was the more casual of the two, being fine with people having a good time and knowing everyones name. In sharp contrast, the Magistrate {whose name she could not detect, for his mind was always changing.} knew no ones name. He viewed his people as valuable resources on an individual level, rather than people with habits and hopes and dreams of their own. Yet in a very general sense he was interested in the wellbeing of other people, and he was extremely conservative with using his soldiers.

Both were quite irritated with the Confederacy's conduct, and had cynical views of his superiors. But the Magistrate was more restrained with how he showed his irritation. On paper he looked like a Confederate walkover, following all his orders to the letter. In reality however, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to use those orders to his own ends.

'This is Kerrigan,' She said to her General. 'I think that Marshall Raynor and the Magistrate are exactly what we're looking for.'

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

And here we are, with the beginning at the very center of the story. I honestly have never before been able to figure out how to write this scene, because despite its simplicity it relies on elements which blur the lines between gameplay and story.

Also you'll notice that I have made the buildings constructible like they were in the game, though I play with the timetables on construction. This is because, frankly, I don't see how the Terrans could stand a chance in the Koprolu Sector without the ability to create their weapons and equipment on the fly.

Hell, the super advanced technology is one of the reasons that the Confederacy of Man is so terrible a place to live. Because production of weapon systems is so easy, organizations like Alpha and Omega Squadron basically pay for themselves.

I got the name for the story from a Blizzard Short story. One which indicates the Magistrate knew Raynor before they met in the pass, and indeed was the primary reason he got a Marshall position in the first place. As for the Magistrates initial reaction to Raynor's Vulture, I based it off of my initial reluctance to use a Vulture hero. The Vulture now a days is a classic piece of hardware, but when I was eight or so… not so much. I honestly never even used him except on Jacob's installation, and had a harder time with missions as a result. It was only later that I figured out that Raynor is a beast when tanking shots from sunken colony's.


	2. Backwater Station

**Chapter Two: Backwater Station**

No one was quite sure how the conversation became a public event. Perhaps some unseen reporter had caught the dialog between the Magistrate and all those he was working with, and put it on the radio. Or perhaps the Magistrate had wanted everyone to hear it, so that they could understand how things were proceeding.

It was at this point irrelevant. What mattered was what had happened in that meeting.

 _'_ _Hey man, got your refugees tucked in nice and tight. Provided we can sidestep anymore surprises from our Confederate Friends, and we can 'keep em away from those critters, they should have an easy time.'_ That was James Raynor, the Marshall who had rapidly gained a reputation for incorruptible purity. Nobody knew quite where the Magistrate had found him, but he had been a good choice.

 _'_ _Right, thanks Jim.'_ That was the Magistrate.

 _'_ _Priority Alert!'_ Said the Adjutant _'Backwater station under attack by unknown alien organisms. Distress beacon activated at twelve twenty.'_

 _'_ _Raynor how quickly can you get down there-'_

 _'_ _We've already received the distress signal from backwater, and we'll take care of it.'_ said General Edmund Duke. _'You just sit tight. You'll be notified if there is anything we think you need to know.'_

 _'_ _Damn!'_ said Jim. _'Listen, if we wait for Confederate reinforcements, that stations dust. I'll head out there now, do what I can. You send in some militia, and we'll save those folks. Trust me.'_

The people of Mar Sara had been moved from vulnerable Cities to a military situation. They were eating from tubes for rations, and hunting Zerg just to get a decent meal. Those who had been fat now found themselves filled out and slim in the mirror. In the short time the Zerg had been on Tarsonis they had been sent to the wasteland, forced into military lifestyle, and had their intelligence insulted by Confederate Propoganda.

So it was small wonder that they broke out into cheers at this last statement.

* * *

Jim Raynor had taken a position near the Command Center and Barracks of the Colony, where he had acted as a guard. He looked at his watch, waiting for the militia, and hoping they would arrive soon. He didn't want to dally much, when people needed him. But neither could he afford to leave this Colony undefended. There were several hundred innocent people in both buildings, who were without command.

Refugees from the cities, who had no direction or plan.

Then he saw a contingent of marines approaching him. The marine at their head drew off his visor, to reveal the Magistrate. 'I am taking command of this operation personally.'

Raynor smiled. 'Glad to see you boys, time to kick some serious butt.'

'You men!' called the Magistrate to the SCV's. 'Why are you standing about, I need you to resume operations. The business of Mar Sara will not be interrupted by something like a xenomorph infestation.'

'Yes sir!' They said immediately.

'Raynor,' said the Magistrate 'I need you to scout out the territories east of here. See if you can find any mineral sites.'

'I'm not sure now is the best time to be setting up a mining expedition, Commander.' said Raynor doubtfully.

'You are also to eliminate any Zerg you encounter. If your Vulture is damaged, you have my permission to requisition repairs from an SCV.' He turned to two other men. 'You two will remain here, and get this Barracks operating. Find some recruits, and begin outfitting the populace.'

'We can't train an army in thirty seconds.' said Raynor.

'We don't have to.' said the Magistrate 'It takes forty seconds for a marine suit to be set onto a new marine. Teach them how to hold a gun, and the rapid fire and some experience will do the rest.' He turned to the last Marine. 'You, what is your name?'

'Frederick, sir.' said the Marine.

'Frederick you are with me.' said the Magistrate 'We're going to head up that hill and see what we can find.'

The group split off, and the Magistrate and Frederick quickly climbed up to the top of the hill. Almost immediately they halted, for they saw a strange violet gooey substance covering much of the hillside. A large orange fleshy buildings, pulsing absently, and at its base were a great many xenomorphs.

Beyond was a short building, heavily fortified.

'Frederick, do you see that Bunker down there?' asked the Magistrate.

'Yes sir.' Said Frederick.

'On my mark we are going to run for it as hard as we can. The xenomorphs will doubtless pursue us, but once we get into the Bunker we can gun them down. Understand?'

'Yes sir.'

They moved forward to the edge of the goo. 'One, two, three! Go! Go! Go!'

The two marines rushed over the goo, rushing toward the Bunker. The Zerg rushed after them, and there was never a more tense race than that which happened on that plateau. They fled, breathing heavily as their boots tread over the ground and the slavering xenomorphs were right behind them.

They reached the bunker, and the Magistrate opened the door quickly, before they both rushed in and shut it behind them.

'Thanks for the Rescue.' Said a Man in an SCV 'We've been hiding out here for weeks hiding from the Zerg.'

Zerg. That was a name for a previously nameless species. 'Congratulations sir.' Said Magistrate 'You just named the species.' He and Fredrick set their guns through the bunker windows. 'Now if you'll excuse me we have to kill some zerg.'

As one they opened fire into the zergs forces, tearing through them even as they tore at the metal. Blood spurted from the dead, while others persisted in their attack. Finally after thirty terrifying seconds, the Zerg all lay dead. The Magistrate turned to the SCV's. 'You two, leave the Bunker and head north. There should be an old base up there which I need you to reactivate.'

'What about you?' asked the SCV.

'We have business with the rest of the zerg.' He replied, then he turned to Frederick as they left. 'I need you to do something very dangerous for me.'

'I'm ready sir.' said Frederick.

'I need you to leave the Bunker, head south, and open fire on the Zerg colony. Once you attract the rest of the Zerg's attention, you will pull back to the Bunker and we'll have a repeat of last time.'

Frederick turned a little pale. 'Yes sir.' He said, before leaving. The Magistrate breathed deeply and watched as Frederick approached the Colony, and then opened fire on the Colony. The Zerg's response was immediate. They rushed after Frederick who fled toward the Bunker. The Magistrate opened fire with his gun at the incoming Zerg.

One fell as Frederick reached the Bunker and got in just before their claws slashed behind him. The two men then began firing en masse into the Zerg, who beat at the doors, and screeched in unholy tones.

Guns flashed, and blood spurted as metal was torn asunder.

Finally all the Zerg were dead. The Magistrate released a breath he had not realized he'd been holding, and turned to Frederick. 'Lets head north. We have work to do.'

They departed the Bunker quickly, and as he did so the Magistrate made a call. 'Raynor, status report?'

'Well I found some xenomorphs on my way. A lot of xenomorphs. But it was nothing a well placed spider mine couldn't handle. Then I got into a slugging match with some larger ones that shot acid and nearly got killed. Had to head back for repairs. How are you?'

'We've had a few notable events ourselves. Remember that base you found earlier? Well we're heading into it now. Did you find anything of note.'

'A huge amount of crystals, actually.' said Raynor 'And a vesper geyser that looks good for use.'

'Excellent,' Said the Magistrate 'tell me, how many Marines are now outfitted?'

'Uh, quite a few down here. My repairs are almost done. You need my help with something?'

'Yes.' Said the Magistrate 'Two things actually. I need you and those Six Marines to make your way north and demolish a zerg colony.'

'Zerg?'

'Its what we are calling these xenomorphs now. Once you've destroyed the Colony you are to take your men up north to my location. Magistrate out.' He immediately changed channels to call an SCV who were working. 'Attention SCV crew, this is the Magistrate. I have new orders for you.'

'Yeah?'

'Your current position is not a very profitable, or defensible mine. You are to arrange for the recruitment of four more Marines from among those sheltering in your barracks, then relocate your operations to the east on a plateau. From there you are to begin operations, and increase your defense forces until I give further orders.'

'Got ya command.'

Then the Magistrate looked around at the base. 'Hmm, looks to be of Antigan origin. I can tell by the unique architecture. Frederick, head over to those bunkers and see if anyone is home. I want to turn this colony into a production facility for Mar Sara.'

He turned to the SCV's who had begun working at a mine. 'You men, is there anyone in this base?'

'Oh yeah sure.' The SCV's answered. 'We were living here before we ran into those Zerg things.'

'Whats your name?'

'Nathan sir.'

'Well Nathan, you are officially getting in the history books for naming the zerg. Now I need you to talk to your people, and get me volunteers for military service. There should be an instruction manual for equipping Marines in there. I want you to use it. Get me ten men from this place for each bunker. You'll need that many to defend this area.'

'Uh, yeah sure.' Said Nathan 'But we'll have to build some more facility's, to produce the weapons at, and keep up supplies.'

'Do whatever it takes. And see if you can't get some more SCV's mining this site. Also… is there anywhere I can find U 238 shells?'

'Well the Academy over there has the secret.' Said Nathan 'They have the kids help create ammunition, sort of a community kind of thing.'

'Good. Tell them I want them to learn how to create U 238 shells. Make it fast. Now if you'll excuse me-'

'Sir!' Came the call, and Frederick arrived. 'I just got back from the Bunkers. There are some Firebats down there who say that they want to help kill the Zerg.'

'Good work.' Said the Magistrate.

'These things have been out here awhile.' said a voice. 'But they could be pretty useful.' The Magistrate turned round, and saw Raynor and six Marines.

'Raynor, your timing couldn't have been better.' said the Magistrate. 'Follow me, we have an assault to plan.'

It took a bit of time to get the Marines organized with the Firebats in front of them. However all were well motivated, and peoples spirits were good. He saw people coming out of the buildings, and talking with each other, while others began working with renewed vigor.

'The only thing I want to know is what Antigans are doing all the way down here.' muttered the Magistrate.

'Well the Antigan planets have their own corporations, not directly associated with the Confeds.' said Raynor.

'They probably have a contract for this area, and brought the community with them.' said Frederick quickly. 'A lot of Antigans have their cities in their bases.'

'So… their Guilds then.' surmised the Magistrate.

'Guilds is a bit harsh, actually.' said Raynor 'It makes people think of the Kel'morians, who the Antigans sure as hell aren't. Some of them are pretty bad, and some of them are good men.'

'The Confederacy taxes them all equally though.' said Frederick 'Making a profit is a serious legal offense when you aren't part of the old families.'

'Lets just cut the chatter, okay.' said the Magistrate with a sigh.

As they travelled they saw up ahead of them a large amount of Zerg, waiting in a great line. The Magistrate called a halt. 'Advance! Firebats in front! Marines behind! Forward march!'

Raynor drove ahead of the men, firing into the enemy ranks with his Vulture before the others came into range. He drew their fire and the Zerg converged around him, being torn apart by gauss fire, and burned by flames before they too fell. Amazingly no one was killed, though several Firebats were badly wounded. The Magistrate ordered these back to the line, and called in SCV's to begin repairs on Raynor's bike.

As they waited, the Magistrate reorganized the Soldiers, then called up Raynor for a private word. 'Listen, I need you to lead them on. Wipe out any Zerg you find, rescue any hostages, if possible. Above all keep the army intact. I'll be waiting for you at the Antigan base.'

'Why can't you come with us?'

'Because General Duke might arrive while we're fighting down here with reinforcements.' Explained the Magistrate 'Someone needs to coordinate with his forces.'

'Fair enough,' Said Raynor 'see you when we get back.'

The Magistrate departed their company, and Raynor gave the men a chance to rest. During that time supply trucks arrived, providing them with U 238 rounds. Once they had those, Raynor led the Marines further south. His Vulture was the most heavily armored thing on the field, and he reflected that he'd much rather see it get beat up, then see a man die.

Then they came to a ramp, leading down into a heavily forested low ground. Something about the situation did not sit right with him.

'I'm going to head down there.' Said Raynor, leaning out from his cockpit. 'You cover me from the cliffs.'

'Understood sir.' Said Frederick. and they took positions overlooking the forest as Raynor drove steadily down the hill.

The attacked happened so quickly that Raynor scarcely had time to react. Hydralisk rushed out from the trees and began firing spines that lodged themselves in his Bike. Raynor fired off his grenades, killing a Zergling as the Militia rushed down behind him, firing en masse. After a few moments of brutal fighting the Zerg were destroyed.

During their advance into the forest, several more pockets of Zerg emerged and attacked. These too were eradicated by the proper application of gauss rounds. Finally they had secured the immediate area, and now stood at the base of a hill. Whatever was on top of said hill would get a clear shot on whomever went up first.

Raynor sped up the hill, firing as he went. Marines go slower than vultures, but their guns are difficult even for a Zergling to evade. They climbed up the way, and found themselves alongside Raynor, surrounded on both sides by Zerglings and Hydralisks. They fought back to back, firing at the enemy as they came at them with slavering jaws and terrifying speed. Half a dozen Zerglings fell in the charge, those that remained attacked the Marines in melee, tearing at their armor and throwing them down.

Even so they were slain before anyone was killed. Yet the Hydralisks spines claimed the lives of two marines before they were mowed down.

The company then set about torching the Colonies, occasionally halting to finish off a Zerg straggler. One by one the Colonies went up in flurries of blood, and fell into nothing.

Finally they rested. Yet Raynor roused them again, and they continued on their path, until they reached a Command Center. Many orangish tendrils had grown over it, and it pulsed with flesh. Inhuman moans could be heard from within, and Raynor shuddered.

'What the hell did they do to that Command Center?' Asked a Marine.

'Whatever it is, it ain't natural.' Said Raynor 'Burn it boys.'

It took a minute or two to set up the explosives. No one was particularly keen on getting too close to that thing, and when they had finally set it up, they stood away from the Infested Command Center and pulled the switch. The Command Center exploded into fire as they watched, and a ragged cheer echoed.

All of a sudden the clouds broke, and out of them emerged the Norad II, weapons primed for battle. Marines raised their rifles, knowing they would be of no use as Alpha Squadron Marines rappelled down from dropships to land around them.

 _'_ _Incoming transmission from General Duke…'_ Said the Adjutant.

 _'_ _Marshall Raynor, by destroying a vital Confederate Installation, you and your men have violated standing Colonial Law. As of right now your all under arrest. I suggest you throw down your weapons, and come peacefully.'_

'Are you out of your mind?' Asked Raynor 'If we hadn't burned that damn factory this entire colony could have been overrun.'

 _'_ _Now I asked you nice the first time boy. I didn't come here to talk with ya. Now throw down them weapons.'_

'Guess you wouldn't be a Confederate if you weren't a complete pain in the ass.' Said Raynor as his soldiers dropped their weapons with a clatter.

* * *

Of course that wasn't the only battle for Mar Sara that took place on the planet. Several dozen engagements were fought across the various outlying sectors, as the militia, spurred on by Raynor's example, fought to defend their people, their homes, and their planet.

And Alpha Squadron was never far behind. Like phantoms they appeared when the fighting was done to arrest whomever had destroyed the zerg that they could find. Entire stretches of cleared areas were left abandoned for the zerg to reclaim at their leisure because of one technicality or another.

Meanwhile, one particular group of marines went unarrested in their efforts. These being the marines Alpha Squadron had sent down to do the same work. The media hailed them as heroes, and living proof that the Confederacy was here to help.

The Magistrate could not help but feel that no one but him was taking this war seriously. It was a good thing he'd arranged for the recruitment of extra militia, or else the colony would have been defenseless.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

So here is my attempt at novelizing Backwater Station. First off, my interpretation of the Terran Faction is that by the time of the Great War, the Terrans have two variates. The kind who live in cities and population centers, and have a lifestyle similar to our own, albeit with the threat of Ghost death squad in the night. And the sort who live in Military bases and live and work there in a nomadic lifestyle. Arcturus Mengsk's great accomplishment was creating a secure enough sector that people didn't need to be armed to the teeth at all times. That and the terraforming project.

Now obviously there are purely military organizations, like Alpha Squadron, and, perhaps, the Sons of Korhal. That said, there is still a growing population of people whose standard of living has improved enough that they don't have to be on a military base all day.

These are the core colonists who the Confederates force out of their homes. The Magistrate in this case has already arranged for the schematics and systems to create what effectively amounts to a military state which is adapted to secure the safety of Mar Sarans.

In other words, when Arcturus Mengsk evacuated Mar Sara, he effectively evacuated an entire planets worth of soldiers, who were experienced, highly motivated, and severely ticked off with the Confederacy, clever, really.


	3. Desperate Alliance

**Chapter Three: Desperate Alliance**

The Magistrate of Mar Sara was without a marshall. The now imprisoned James Raynor had no deputy. He had tried to instill the sheer lethal inconvenience of the situation General Edmund Duke had put him in with a strongly worded email. However the results were… less than stellar.

'Receiving incoming transmission…' Said the Magistrate.

 _'I got yer message Magistrate,'_ Said Duke _'and frankly, I don't care what ya think about Confederate Regulations. You damn fringe yokels are all alike! Don't know where your loyalties lie! Ya all have a real good day now ya'hear.'_

 _'Transmission ended.'_

Clean. Simple. He hated Duke. If the Magistrate didn't know better, he would have thought that the Confederates planned this and wanted the aliens to win. Certainly he had seen no indication that they were fighting the zerg.

Within the darkness of his command center, the Magistrate looked over schematics and documents. He had the ability to make vultures now, if he went to the trouble of creating a factory, but he doubted he'd make use of it. In the Guild Wars he'd fought too many of the Kel'morian invented devices to ever feel comfortable commanding them.

'Whats our general status Adjutant?' He asked at last.

 _'The report your requested is ready,'_ she replied _'sixteen outlying stations have reported sightings of the Alien Invaders identified as Zerg. The Confederates have arrested all standing militia forces and continue to avoid action against the Zerg. Three stations have fallen to the Zerg already.'_

'Wonderful,' the Magistrate drank some coffee to steady his nerves. 'alright, is there anyone I can call for help? Other than the Confederacy, of course, who are less than useless.' He'd already posted militia garrisons at all the refugee camps. That was all he could do.

The Adjutant halted, as if battling with her programming. Finally she spoke. _'We've been unable to locate any source of military relief other than…'_ She faltered. _'the extremist faction known as the Sons of Korhal. Their liaison is holding online.'_

The Magistrate halted. 'Put him through.'

The screen flickered to life, and onto it appeared a dark skinned, black bearded man with some graying patches on his beard. He was dressed in a black military uniform, and appeared quite dignified. 'Good day, Magistrate, my name is Arcturus Mengsk and I represent the Sons of Korhal. Your familiar with the Confederate propaganda surrounding my group, but your reputation suggests you'll see past it.'

The Magistrate flinched. Everything about him told the tale. His body posture, his bearing, whatever you wanted to call it. Every word that the man spoke screamed of concealed malice, of outrage. What terrible wrong was done to set him on this path. Oh wait, the Magistrate already knew. Everyone already knew. The fact sat at a back of the subconscious of every person in the Sector, waiting to be brought out from their minds.

And of that monstrous atrocity Arcturus Mengsk was living testament.

'What are the Sons of Korhal doing on Mar Sara?' asked the Magistrate.

Arcturus Mengsk looked rueful. 'Its never been our policy to operate in any one place for long. But these… Zerg, don't look like their going to wait.' A breathless, bitter laugh echoed from his mouth. 'I'd like to make you an offer Magistrate. I'd like to help you out by sending down some transports to your colony and evacuating any survivors.'

'That is exceedingly generous for this Sector.' Noted the Magistrate 'Whats the catch?'

Arcturus' expression did not change at all. 'You know, of course that my organization operates outside the bounds of Confederate Law. Thats why they spread their lies and,' Dark amusement returned to his tone. 'misinformation. If you choose to accept my help, you'll be branded as an outlaw too. But… it's a chance to save those people.'

The Magistrate looked at his sensors. The zerg were closing in all around them. The Confederates were nowhere to be found. His station stood at the forefront of the invasion. It would be the first to fall, then the Zerg would stream over the badlands, wiping out every man woman and child. There would be no survivors. No hope for a new beginning.

Only swift death, with the promise of grim deeds to come.

'Alright Arcturus,' said the Magistrate. 'I accept your offer.'

Then, for the first time since the Magistrate had seen him, Arcturus Mengsk smiled. 'Time to make a stand Magistrate.' And he was gone.

'Ending transmission.'

The Magistrate opened channels to the rest of Mar Sara. 'Attention people of Mar Sara. I realize you are all concerned about the encroaching Zerg invasion, and the apparent lack of evacuation or Military support from the Confederacy.

The Sons of Korhal, moved by our plight, have offered to send transports in order to evacuate the entire planet. Given that we have no other recourse, I have agreed to their terms. Do not be alarmed when red painted dropships appear on the horizon. They are here to help. Since I may shortly expect a ghost assassin in the night, I want it to be clear that this is an act of desperation.

The Confederacy has failed to defend us, and has hampered our attempts to defend ourselves. We stand now on the brink of destruction, and only with the Sons of Korhal's assistance may we survive.

In the meantime I want every man and woman able to bear arms to be equipped with Marine armor. If you are attacked, hold the line. Serve your fellow man. Serve humanity. All other priority's are secondary to survival.

Magistrate out.'

He leaned back in his chair, bitterly lamenting the loss of his career.

 _'Priority alert!'_ said the Adjutant _'Evacuation zone under attack by Zerg forces. Distress beacon activated at 1220.'_

'I'm on my way.' said the Magistrate, setting his watch to count down to thirty minutes.

* * *

By the time he got out of the Command Center, the initial attack wave had been deflected. One of the bunkers was on fire, a fact which the Magistrate would deal with soon. 'You, man in the SCV.'

'Reporting sir.'

'Get over there and put the fire out in that Bunker.'

'Yo this things on fire!' called a Vulture Pilot. 'You outta send an SCV out here to repair it! And fix my bike up too while yer at it!'

'Put out the fire. Leave the bike.' said the Magistrate, raising his communicator. 'All Mar Saran forces, begin distributing weapons and armor to the colonists.'

 _'With respect Magistrate, this is against Confederate Regulations-'_

 _'_ I don't give a damn about Confederate Regulations, or their opinion of how I choose to protect my people!' snarled the Magistrate 'Have you forgotten sir, we are at war! A fight with two alien races for the very survival of our species! HAND OUT THE GUNS!'

 _'Yes sir.'_ squeeked the Soldier.

The Magistrate turned his attention to more mundane matters. 'As for SCV's, I want you to begin construction of supply depots directly in front of our Bunkers. Their tougher, and will slow down any Zerglings who encroach on our position. Make it fast.

Pull up missile turrets behind the cliffs. And near the supply caches. I want the enemy fliers shot out of the sky before they can do any real damage. Lets move people, the end of the world is upon us.'

By now a large contingent of new Marines had been outfitted with their new weapon systems. The Magistrate approached the leader. 'Are you men prepared for battle?'

'Uh, Sir, I've never used one of these things before now. I mean, I haven't been trained. Or anything.'

The Magistrate gave him a smile which was not unkindly. 'The fact that you know that means your overqualified. Get into the Bunkers, and scan for hostiles. If you see the Zerg, spray gauss rounds into them until their all dead.'

An unbearable scurrying overtook the base, and all the bases of Mar Sara, during which the Magistrate arranged for the Marines to be provided with u 238 shells. He set technicians to upgrading the weapons, and oversaw the raising of a number of missile turrets. He did not post anyone on the cliffs, for he had seen fit to post all his marines in, or behind the bunkers. None of the hydralisks would be able to scale the cliffs, and his missile defense system saw to the defense from mutalisks.

Then the zerg arrived.

The assault began simple enough at first, a few zerglings charging the bunker and being destroyed, even as the parts for a supply depot were assembled. Then came the Hydralisks, firing behind the zerglings. Yet these two were swept away by heavy gunfire.

However it soon became clear that the Zerg were far from done. Their attacks became more and more common, and larger in numbers. Several times they set fire to the Supply Depots, while a force of Mutalisks rushed over the skies to battle his turrets. Wave after wave of the Zerg broke upon his defenses like water on a rock, and often his SCV's had only just finished their repairs when the Zerg would be upon them again.

 _'Ten minutes until dropship arrival.' s_ aid the Adjutant over the com.

The sound of gauss fire echoed throughout the night, as the zerg charged his defenses constantly. Hydralisks snarled. Zergling chattered. And yet despite their fearsome aspect, it soon became clear that the zerg were little more than unsuccessful raiders. Their blood was spilled over the sands and roads like an ocean, and still they came on.

Whenever the zerglings charged his bunkers, they first had to find an opening between the supply depots that had been erected. Whenever the Hydralisks began to attack the supply depots from beyond the range of the Bunkers, the Magistrate would send out his task force of Vultures to fire grenades into their midsts. Invariably the hydralisks would pursue them, and be torn to shreds by the Marines.

When an unexpected rush of zerglings nearly tore down one of the Bunkers, the Magistrate assigned and SCV to repair it, and sent a team of fireboats to swap places with the. He set the vultures nearby to cover the gap.

The clock ticked on.

 _'Five minutes until Dropship Arrival.'_

So far nothing the Zerg had been able to throw at them had so much as scratched the defense line. Mutalisks and zerglings and hydralisks charged and died in vain.

It was at the moment of the Magistrates greatest confidence, when the clock said 2:00 minutes, that the zerg attacked in numbers and force far greater than they ever had before. The sounds of battle roared in his hearing as wave after wave of zerg surged against his defenses. He drew his pistol and began firing into the enemy lines. The heavy weapon shuddered in his hand as a zergling fell, then again and another was destroyed.

The battle continued for second after terrible second, and the resistance began to wane. Just as the Magistrate was convinced that the line wouldn't hold, and the zerg would break through one of the bunkers, the attack subsided as the last zerg fell.

There were a few moments of silence.

 _'One minute until Dropship arrival.'_

The Magistrate tapped a marine on the shoulder. 'Excuse me.'

'You want a piece of me boy?'

'What are our casualties?' said the Magistrate, in no mood for lip.

'…No one.'

'Excuse me?'

'We haven't lost anyone. These critters have been too busy attacking the defenses to get a shot at us.'

'…So these xenomorphs, who the Confederacy is in absolute dread of, to the point where they will not even consider defending their own citizens. Are so poor at attacking that we have not lost, **A. SINGLE. SOLDIER.** '

The Marine considered this. 'Well we have a chokepoint. We'd probably lose a bunch of guys if we attacked them though.'

'Give me a siege tank, and a week and I'd purge this entire planet of zerg.' Said the Magistrate flatly. 'As it is…'

 _'Strap yourselves in Boys.'_

'Their timing couldn't have been better.'

* * *

Later as the Dropships, and the portable buildings made their way into the upper atmosphere. The ship itself was little more than a large hall, with many seats in it. They weren't very comfortable, and the Magistrate did not buckle up. He was mulling something over, and finally stood up and approached the Pilot. 'Listen, could you drop me off at these coordinates.'

'You want to go back to the planet?' ssked the Pilot in surprise. 'Why?'

'Yeah,' said the Magistrate 'see that colony is going to be next on the zerg swarm's hitlist, which means I need to take command and make sure they all get out alright.'

'You are a brave man.' she said 'Not smart. But brave. Very well, I'll drop you off, and I could probably take a shipment of noncombatants from the station as well.'

'Thank you.'

It was against his better judgement, but there were other stations in need of his help.

* * *

Within a Bunker, the Mar Saran militiaman Frederick Gostav fired an endless stream of gauss rounds into the Zerg ranks. They came on without end, or apparent motive beyond sheer savagery. A Zerglings got right up close to the Bunker, and began tearing through the shielding. He put a dozen rounds into its face, before turning to blast another.

A firebat whose name he did not know send forth a wave of flame at the zerg attacking the bunkers, and roasted many of them alive. But there were always more. A Vulture exploded as the creatures tore it apart.

Then a spray of gauss rounds came from behind the defense line, annihilating the remaining zerg attackers, even as they had been inches away from piercing the bunker walls.

Frederick breathed a sigh of relief, and fell down in exhaustion.

* * *

Outside the Magistrate had only just arrived to take control of the defense. Seeing that the defense would surely be overrun within a few moments if nothing was done, he immediately redirected a number of idle Marines from their complacency to acting as reinforcements. Their assistance proved critical in holding the breach.

The men at this base had not created any barricades to prevent the Zerg from approaching their bunkers, and moreover had not created any Missile Turrets.

'I need an SCV to immediately begin the creation of anti air defenses. The Zerg mutalisks will show up sooner or later. I also need five volunteers to act as Marines. Quickly.'

Five men from the huddled refugees stepped forward, and were immediately assigned to begin suiting up in the barracks. Forty seconds was how long it took to don Marine armor. Forty seconds for each totaled out to two minutes.

'Arcturus, what is the status on the evac?'

'The Dropships need to refuel.' said Arcturus 'So it should be at least ten minutes. Two for arrival time.'

'Do what you can.' Said the Magistrate.

He felt sweat dripping onto his brow, and wiped it away. He then threw himself into the task of making the defenses secure. Unfortunately several of the vultures were already destroyed, and there was no time to construct more. They didn't have a factory anyway.

The zerg arrived again, and this time they found the defenses far stronger. They were swept away after heavy fighting. They tried for the left side, and there too were foiled. By now the new marines had finished being equipped and stood outside the barracks awaiting orders.

'You men, take a position at the Northern breach.' He raised his com. 'I need an SCV team to construct more fortifications north of here. Now!'

 _'Alright, alright, we're overworked as it is.'_

He glanced to the refugees. 'Five more volunteers, I don't care what your gender is as long as your old enough to hold a gun.'

Five stepped forward. Three of them were woman.

Thus it continued, and every so often the Zerg would attack and be deflected by an increasingly formidable wall of firepower.

 _'Five minutes until Dropship arrival.'_ said the Adjutant.

'Thank you.' said the Magistrate, convinced that the enemy were going to attack soon. He raised his com. 'Five more volunteers to work as Firebats, required at the barracks! ASAP people!'

He didn't look to see who it was who were coming forward to be suited up. There was no time to construct a barricade, so the only option left was to hope the Bunkers and the Marines behind them would be enough to defeat the Swarm's final assault.

He checked his watch. 1:57 minutes.

The attack was upon them. The sound of gunfire was louder than the firing of a tank. A gigantic wave of zerg swarmed at them, being destroyed by the hundreds and yet pressing on nonetheless. They reached the bunker defenses on both sides, and it was the eastern one that was hit hardest. The bunker fell. several marines near it were torn apart. Yet at last the assault was broken.

To the west the defenses had held, thanks in part to well placed spider mines which had been set before the Magistrate arrived.

 _'One minute until dropship arrival.'_

He counted down the seconds under his breath, breathing heavily as he did so.

 _'Sons of Korhal Dropships approaching.'_

 _'Strap yourselves in boys.'_

Deja Vu, much?

* * *

The Dropship was oddly comforting, he realized as he stumbled into it. But he knew that it was only an illusion of safety. There was another base in need of his command, and he approached the Dropship pilot. 'I need to be set down at these coordinates.'

'Are you sure? You just got out of the hot zone.'

'I'm sure.'

He sat down to get what rest he could. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

This time when he arrived there was no attack underway. He wasted no time in arranging for a barricade of metal to be set before the Bunkers and rallied more recruits from the refugees. This time he built them farther down the passes, and set up several more Bunkers behind them. He added a missile turret, just in case.

 _'Ten minutes to Dropship arrival.'_

Inwardly he was glad that the Mar Saran shelters had been built with a standard design. It made defending them far easier. He barely noticed time pass as the Zerg assailed the evacuation zone in vain.

 _'Five minutes to Dropship arrival.'_

One could not fault the Zergs bravery. Only their result.

 _'One minute until dropship arrival.'_

Finally.

 _'Strap yourselves in Boys.'_

Was she going to say that _every time_ he finished a holdout?

* * *

This time the Magistrate didn't even stop to examine the inside of the Dropship before he approached the Pilot. The Marines stared.

'I need you to take me to the following coordinates.'

'Kay.' Said the Pilot.

'…What? Thats it?'

'I'm done reasoning with you. You want to get torn apart by Zerg, life in your own hands.'

* * *

Metal barricades. Bunkers. Missile Turrets. Rince and repeat. The same workable tactics persisted endlessly as he went from one station, to the next station, to the next. On and on he went, and he never had much time before the Zerg pressed the attack and forced them on the defensive.

On some level he realized that he was nearing his mental and physical limits. His hands were shaking on his com. His voice was hoarse from calling orders. He was suffering from dehydration as he approached the pilot, and gave them coordinates.

'Last one.' He said 'Last Colony.'

* * *

 _'Strap yourselves in Boys.'_

He had never slept in a better uncomfortable seat, the Magistrate decided.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

This adaptation of Desperate Alliance is based off of a game I just finished playing through, where I held off the Zerg without losing a single structure or unit. I am very proud.

Here is the thing about the Magistrate, though. He is rather like the main protagonist of Five Nights at Freddies in that he is significantly more badass than the average, or above average, player.

For those of you who don't know, Five Nights at Freddies is a horror game which is **really, REALLY,** Hard. Your fate cannot be avoided. **YOU WILL DIE!**

Except there is a cannon main character to the game. So while the players all die multiple times and have to restart repeatedly, the main character got through all Five Nights at Freddies without slipping up once. From this we can conclude that Mike Schmidt is the single most awesome Night Guard in the universe and that he is the combined awesomeness of the entire fanbase.

It also opens the doors for some really odd alternate character interpretations. Did Mike ever take the psychotic Animatronics seriously as a threat? He certainly never confirmed that they would kill him, until the fourth night.

Where was I? Oh right, the Magistrate. The Adjutant says the sixteen outlying stations have reported sighting of the Zerg. Of those sixteen, three fell to the swarm, representing the number of times most newbies lost the mission.

But that still leaves thirteen Colonies which the Sons of Korhal evacuated. Now one could argue that there are multiple Magistrates and that you are only playing as one of them. Thats option A. Or you could argue that the Magistrate was the only colony attacked, and his was the last one evacuated. Thats option B.

Or option C, the Magistrate played Desperate Alliance thirteen times in a row before moving on, during which he used just about every strategy under the sun to defeat the Zerg, the last one being winning offensively and drinking cola until the Sons of Korhal arrived to find a secure area.

 **Edit:** Added a great deal to this chapter, and removed Arcturus Mengsk from a scene where he had no place. I wanted to give a sense of nightmarish strain, which the original chapter lacked.

 **Extra edit:** Made a few minor changes.


	4. The Jacobs Installation

**The Jacobs Installation:**

 _'_ _Your status as Colonial Magistrate is suspended, pending an Official investigation of your affiliation with the Sons of Korhal.'_ said the Adjutant over the Com. It was short, brief and to the point. The Former Magistrate of Mar Sara didn't feel particularly bad about the fact. Each of those stations he'd rescued had been guarding within countless of civilians and refugees, some of them from Mar Sara, other having fled from neighboring systems to Mar Sara. Some had even been on Chau Sara, and left shortly before it was destroyed by the Protoss.

The number of people who would have been killed if he had just followed orders numbered nearly two million and counting.

And he hadn't fought at all of them. Countless other areas had been fighting at the same time as him, and been saved by the sudden evacuation provided by the Sons of Korhal. Often with stakes just as high. It was an entire planet beset by the Zerg, and there were innumerable battles which had taken place beyond his sight. Even so, the Magistrate had found himself becoming overnight something of a celebrity, or perhaps hero. He had fought in more battles than anyone else on the barren world of Mar Sara. For the most part he had fought defensively, holding the line long enough for the Dropships, which numbered far too few, to arrive and ferry Civilians away. Yet toward the end he had tired of fighting defensively, and begun some offensives, raiding the zerg lines and destroying outlying colonies. While it did not stop them from producing more troop, it made the defense toward the end easily.

In his last defense he had neglected his defenses in favor of channeling Marines with upgraded weapons and equipment into a raiding force that decimated the outlying Zerg structures. Whenever his forces began to suffer too many casualties, he would withdraw them to the base. Marines who were wounded in battle were assigned to Bunker duty, while fresh recruits were brought out to take their places. Finally he had moved forward and through heavy fighting destroyed the zerg hive. It was a temporary victory, but nevertheless helpful. He learned not to assault the zerg 'Sunken Colonies' with anything less than overwhelming force. And, grimly, to expect casualties in such an assault, regardless of numbers.

The Sons of Korhal had a surprisingly substantial fleet, and had enough empty vessels to carry the entire population. It was fortunate that Mar Sarans had long ago learned to conserve food, and carry rations. Terran fringe worlders were a nomadic sort, and sometimes would change planets on the barest of whims. So they were not caught altogether unprepared for such an eventuality. Even so, the situation in the refugee vessels looked grim. Many of the refugees were lacking in basic equipment, and without a permanent base of operations providing that equipment would be a daunting prospect.

Fortunately no one was starving. Mar Sarans were a tough people, who had survived and endured to reach a limited form of prosperity despite backbreaking taxes from the Confederacy and little to no protection from the Squadrons. Moral amongst the troops varied from acceptable levels of despair, to a limited form of adventurousness.

The Sons of Korhal were a different story.

What the Magistrate remembered most about the Sons of Korhal were how quiet they were. Idle chatter about various persons on board, discussions about recent events. Trash talking between friends, gossip between woman. All these things and more were completely nonexistent among the Sons of Korhal. They worked tirelessly, or else wandered aimlessly their eyes empty, like a glass vial with light shining through it from an odd angle. They looked thin, not in a malnourished sort of way, but as though they were only half in the world of humans.

The worked tirelessly, and even now seemed to be assembling a stream of weapons and equipment. He saw Sons of Korhal children, boys and girls, practicing with weapons in a firing range. Mar Saran were taught to shoot early, after all they had to protect themselves, but it was usually a family activity sort of thing. Here…

It was like every single person in the Sons of Korhal had post traumatic stress disorder. Oh wait, the Confederacy had seen to that. Suddenly the Magistrate had some idea as to why they hated the Confederacy so much.

He was met in the hanger by a tall boy of about sixteen, with messy orange hair. He was clad in red marine armor, and fully armed. 'General Mengsk requests your presence on the Bridge, sir.'

'Well we'd best not keep him waiting then.' decided the Magistrate. 'Lead me to him.'

They walked throughout barren halls, and found a checkpoint waiting for them. Two Marines there barred their path, one of them a black haired woman with violet eyes and pale, elegant complexion. 'We cannot allow you to go any further until you disarm.'

The Magistrate drew out his gauss pistol, noting with displeasure that he had forgotten to reload it. He flipped through the bullet cartridges, noting that now only six remained. Then closing it, he handed it to the woman. 'I'll want that back after I'm done.'

'Of course.' she stepped back, and he walked onward through the hall.

As he did so he encountered the last person he'd expected to show up. 'Hey man.' He said.

'Raynor, you son of a bitch! What are you doing here?' Laughed the Magistrate.

'Arcturus' boys sprung me from the prison ship.' said Raynor 'Apparently their as frustrated with the Confederates as we are.'

'What do you think the Sons of Korhal want here anyway?' asked the Magistrate seriously.

'I know their reputation, but they seem to be on the level.' Raynor replied turned to the door, and pressed a button and the door opened. 'I think Arcturus wanted to speak with you.'

They entered, and found Arcturus Mengsk standing with his back to them. This room was unlike the others, however. It was ornate, almost napoleonic in its decorations. Gold trim, with a record player over to one side, though it was not currently active. Mengsk turned around to watch them enter, as the door closed. Beyond him the endless lines of Dropships continued their rounds. Fighting had yet to cease on the planets surface. The retreat, as it was, was still going strong. 'Commander, Mar Sara is almost completely overrun by the Zerg. The Confederates are abandoning the planet.' His voice became grim. 'And so are we. However, there is one thing I'd like to do before we leave.' He tapped a button on a table, and an image of a Confederate Colony undergoing evacuation appeared. 'I want you to raid this Colonies Confederate Outpost and retrieve whatever designs or weapons schematics that you can find in their networks. With the chaos of the Confederate evacuation, you shouldn't have any trouble getting in, or out, of their installation.'

'I'm into it.' Said Raynor.

* * *

Of course there was a good deal more preparation to be done before they actually went about raiding said Colony. For one thing they had to change armor colors. Frederick and the other Marines were somewhat regretfully changing the colors of their Militia Blue suits into Son of Korhal red via spray paint can.

'Is this really necessary?' asked Frederick bluntly.

'Actually yes,' said the Magistrate 'if the Confederates trace the attack back to us they may start targeting refugees in retaliation. This is a Son of Korhal attack, the militia are merely the Soldiers I'm sending to do it.'

'But what are we trying to steal?' asked another.

'Weapon schematics and designs.' explained the Magistrate 'Anything that the Confederates don't want us to know about. We might be able to upgrade our standing forces to goliaths. Heck, maybe even siege tanks.' He almost salivated at the thought.

'Okay, okay, fine.' said Frederick 'But why doesn't Raynor have to change his color scheme?'

'Because I'm already a wanted man.' explained Raynor 'Official story is that I got together a team of renegades and joined the Sons of Korhal. That way the Militia as a whole doesn't get held responsible.' He fitted a clip into his Gauss rifle and slammed it into place.

'Oh come on,' said Frederick 'we both know that the Confederates suspended the Magistrates authority officially. They already know he turned on them and worked with Mengsk.'

'True,' admitted the Magistrate 'but the fact that you are following my orders anyway means I have an entire planets worth of crack troops at my disposal. Moreover, as far as they know I only worked with Mengsk out of desperation.'

'And because Alpha Squadron screwed us over.' surmised Frederick. 'We heard of Raynor's arrest on television.'

'The point,' said the Magistrate 'is that even the Confederacy will think twice before starting a fight with us, since that will just make us work directly with the Sons of Korhal, which gives us the advantage of first strike.'

'But we are rebelling against the Confederacy.' guessed Frederick. 'We wouldn't be having meetings with the Sons of Korhal if we didn't intend to help them out. This can't just be a one time thing.'

The Magistrate paused, considering it. 'One good turn deserves another. Likewise a series of bad turns warrants retribution.' He glanced to Michael Liberty, who had apparently failed to grasp the use of the spray can, and had made a mess of his Marine suit. 'Raynor, would you help him please? I don't think that poor Marine suit can take much more of his ineptitude.'

* * *

The assault upon the Jacobs Installation was swift, deadly efficient and resulted in minimal casualties for the Confederate, and no casualties for the Miltia turned Sons of Korhal. Raynor proved an adept squad leader, and his Marine Suit was specially upgraded to tank gunfire. At several points the automated defense systems proved troublesome, but each time they were quickly obliterated by concerted gunfire.

The Confederate Security personal were badly spaced out, and their core group was in roughly the center of the Installation. Although he had only a very small part in the affair, the Magistrate remained exceedingly proud of his place in events. It had been his idea, given from the outside of the facility, to avoid the center of the facility and sneak in through a side passage which was virtually undefended.

The plan proved quite effective, and none distinguished themselves more than Raynor in the fighting. When several of his men were badly injured in the fray, he had them shifted to the rear of the formation, while their healthier comrades took their place. In this way all parts of the assault force would be able to equally contribute.

'Raynor,' the Magistrate said over the com. 'north of you is a prison block. You might be able to free some intellectuals and or prisoners of war.'

 _'_ _We'll check it out.'_

Then there was a sound like thunder, followed by the hiss of a door opening. Suddenly there was an ungodly snarling, and the sound of flamethrowers.

 _'_ _Zerg, I don't believe this!'_ Said Raynor.

 _'_ _Believe it.'_ said Arcturus Mengsk _'I saw Zerg in Confederate holding cells myself and that was over a year ago. Its clear the Confederates have known about these creatures for some time. For all we know, they could be breeding the things. Be that as it may, out priority here is accessing the Confederate Network._

 _We'll deal with the Zerg another day.'_

The Magistrate looked up to where he'd set up his defense line around the Colony, awaiting evacuation as he ensured the area around the Jacobs Installation would remain secure. Most of the Militia here had no idea that he was performing a direct action of Rebellion against the Confederacy, or that he was no longer the Magistrate. He felt somewhat guilty about that fact.

Even so, the fact that the Confederates had known about the Zerg with at least a years notice was profoundly disturbing to him. Chau Sara had fought with them heavily over the course of seven months, of course, but if the Confederates had known before hand, that changed everything.

At the very least they had not warned the Militia sufficiently of the threat posed by the Xenomorphs. Then they had arrested his soldiers for working against the creatures. Alpha Squadron had been notoriously late to every party, just in time to make arrests.

Now a nasty suspicion was growing in the Magistrate's mind. What if the Confederacy _did_ breed them? What did that mean?

Certainly it was possible. Genetic engineering could easily have transformed, say, a dog into the Zerglings which beset every assault. With the proper use of stem cell research, the Magistrate could certainly see the creation of a force as destructive as the Zerg. But what about hydralisks? What were they based on. Humans? It was a disturbing thought, and he did not like to consider it.

So based on this theory either the Zerg were a black ops experiment gone rogue, and breaking free of all restraints, which was unlikely since the Confederacy of Man had clearly made no attempt since Chau Sara to destroy them. Or the zerg were a black ops experiment which was going just as planned.

The Magistrates eyes widened as he considered the implications. The hampering of defense forces by Alpha Squadron, which took no action against the Zerg. The sending of refugees into open wastelands, filled with xenomorphs. It all added up.

Perfectly.

He made a call. 'Adjutant, what are the casualties to the Zerg?'

 _'_ _I am sorry Commander, I cannot calculate a precise number. Too many people arrived undocumented from other worlds overrun by the Zerg. However, accounting for deaths thanks to forced marches into wastelands, and the approximate number of unarmed civilians in population centers overrun by the Zerg it seems that it would be in the tens of thousands on Mar Sara alone.'_

The Magistrate was stunned beyond measure. The enormity of what he had just deduced made his blood run cold. The sound of gunfire as the Militia held off the last wave of zerg now seemed insignificant. The Confederacy did this. When he had become Magistrate he had gone out of his way to increase the security of the Mar Sarans against pirates. He had equipped them with marine suits when before they had nothing to defend themselves with. Him and Raynor had begun rooting out the corruption.

It didn't hurt the Confederacy, but honest prosperity was itself a threat to the Old Families, whose obsession with their own dominance had led to billions of deaths in the Guild Wars alone. Whether or not they created the zerg, the facts all pointed to the Confederacy being on the side of the flesh eating abombinations. Chau Sara they had defended, but Chau Sara was profitable for them. They had a vested interest in its survival.

Mar Sara was just competition.

 _'_ _Hey, we found the plans man.'_ said Raynor _'Just have the transports waiting for us when we come out.'_

The Magistrate would say nothing of this to anyone in the fleet. If he revealed what was really going on here, if it was what was going on, the results would be nothing less than a crusade. Raynor was impulsive, if he found out that the Confederates had sold out an entire planet he was just charismatic enough that he would lead retribution for vengeances sake alone. Revenge was historically a terrible commander.

'To hell with them.' snapped the Magistrate over the com. 'We're gone.'

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

So yeah, the Magistrate figures out the plot before it happens. Actually this came rather out of nowhere, but it actually makes sense. All the information was there from the very beginning. The names and dates were all inside our head, what we wanted, what we really needed was a story. But we didn't know the Confederacy like the Magistrate did. Our first experience with it was General Edmund Duke, who was by far the most sympathetic and reasonable of the Confederate Officials. And we thought he was jerk.

But the Magistrate would have needed contacts from the Guild Wars to buy the kind of equipment Mar Sara has. Presumedly he was a straight-laced counterpart to Raynor. He has experienced the absolute worst of the Confederacy and knows how it operates. Which is why he was able to create a successfully colony by running circles around Confederate corruption.

The key difference between us and the Magistrate, is that we are ishmael, only just learning about the setting. While the Magistrate has been in the setting his whole life. We think the Confederates are the good guys at first, our commanding Officer who gives us missions. The Magistrate already knows them. So its a far easier jump of logic for him to conclude they wanted the xenomorphs to win.

By the way, I am presuming that the Magistrate is the person who armed the Mar Sarans in the first place. Which is why the Confederates were concerned about them. With safety from pirate attacks and Confederate land grabs, Mar Sara was the heart of the colonies. The colonies themselves are the proverbial Portrait for Tarsonis' Dorian Gray. As Tarsonis remains a city of gleaming spires and well dressed businessmen, the Colonies show what Tarsonis really is. A crime infested society of lawless and depraved people, both low and high.

Though its often forgotten, there was a period where Tarsonis was a planet of bold explorers and discovery. They were just tainted and corrupted by power and wealth, and the Old Families had long ago turned Tarsonis into a society their ancestors would be ashamed of.

Thus Tarsonis stabs the Portrait of Tarsonis in the heart, Mar Sara. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Anyway I have something of an apology to make. This didn't really deal all that much with the mission itself. I only vaguely described the tactic I use all the time because…

Because Jacobs Installation is pretty damn boring, okay. You have such a powerful force at the beginning, that unless you really mismanage your Soldiers you can't lose.

As for the Sons of Korhal, I wanted to give them a characterization beyond 'hates the Confederacy.' So I went for something a bit different.

 **Edit:**

Changed the number of people the Magistrate saved from one million to two billion. While an extremely large number, this is an entire planet we're talking about. While I think Mar Sara has a lower population than Earth, it was still a large enough colony to be home to three of the major battles of the great war.

 **Double Edit:**

Changed the numbers of people who died and were saved to a lower population level. I have since revised by viewpoint on Terrans, and I think they are pretty widely spaced out all things considered.


	5. Revolution

**Chapter Five: Revolution**

In the moon orbiting the red planet of Antiga Prime, a massive fleet of dropships came out of orbit. Arrangements had been made by Arcturus for the people of Antiga to take the refugees, and now they were descending to the planet en masse. To General Duke's credit, he had apparently refused a direct order to open fire upon the fleeing dropships filled with refugees.

As the fleet moved down towards the surface, the portal buildings of the terrans slowly trailing behind with a slow burn, one dropship turned aside, heading towards a small moon. There the dropship flew onto the dark side of the moon, and landed upon a large base. Out of the dropship came two figures, clad in red marine armor.

A confederate spy drone observed all this, and transmitted its findings to the confederate headquarters on Tarsonis.

* * *

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara met Jim Raynor in the hall. Raynor nodded to him. 'Hey man, headquarters has begun analysis of the discs. They expect to have them decoded shortly. I hope whatever's on those discs is worth it.'

They entered Sons of Korhal meeting room they were met by Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk was standing by a table with a monitor on it. He approached them with two badges in his hand. He passed one to Raynor, and one to the Magistrate, looking absurdly pleased. 'You and Captain Raynor have done well Commander, I believe our efforts have weakened the Confederacy's grip on the fringe worlds. But our job out here isn't done yet.'

'…Right, thanks,' said the newly minted Commander, surprised by the promotion. 'so whats our next move?'

'Lieutenant Kerrigan, my second in command, will elaborate.' said Mengsk, before switching on the monitor.

On the screen they saw a beautiful red haired women wearing a head band. She adjusted her hair and then spoke: 'I'll get straight to the point. Our sources tell us that Antiga Prime is ready to begin open revolt against the Confederacy. Unfortunately the Confederates seem to be aware of this as well. They've stationed a large detachment of Alpha Squadron troops there, under the command of General Duke.'

'It will be your job, Commander, to free this colony and show our good intent to the Antigan people.' said Mengsk 'Lieutenant Kerrigan will help you deal with Duke's officers. The rest of the Confederates are yours to deal with.'

'…Right,' said the Commander 'when do we leave?'

'Immediately,' said Mengsk 'every moment we waste now means our chance is that much closer to slipping away.'

'Right,' said Commander 'well we'll just go start go start a revolution then.'

'Sounds fun.' said Raynor.

The task force was landed upon the planet of Mar Sara a little ways away from the main Antigan settlement. As they walked along, Commander felt ill at ease. 'Raynor, what do you suppose he meant by 'Lieutenant Kerrigan will help you deal with Duke's officers?'

'Kill them I guess.' said Raynor.

'Yes, but wouldn't that be our job?' asked the Commander 'If she's supposed to meet us out here, how is she going to get inside-'

'Captain Raynor, I've finished scouting out the area and- you pig!' said Kerrigan, appearing in the flesh. She was even more beautiful than she appeared on video, and the skin tight jumpsuit she wore showed off her curves nicely. Raynor was obviously appreciating the view, but Commander, for his part, thought her curves paled in comparison to the fact that she was outfitted like a Confederate Ghost.

'What?' said Raynor 'I haven't even said anything to you yet?'

'Yeah but you were thinking it,' said Kerrigan.

'Aw, right, your a telepath.' said Raynor 'Look, lets just get on with this okay.'

'Right,' said Kerrigan.

'Shit.' said Commander 'she's a ghost! She's a goddamn ghost!'

'Is that a problem?' asked Kerrigan, no doubt already knowing the answer.

'Of course its a problem!' snapped the Commander 'You're a professional murderer who can read minds! Its a concept I find more than a little distressing!'

'You'd be surprised at just how many people can be classified as a professional murderer if you think about it.' said Kerrigan 'The only difference is that I didn't have a choice. Can we move on?'

'Fine,' said Commander 'lets just get this over with.'

They made their way south across the barren landscape, until finally they came to the beginnings of a road which led across a bridge. As they crossed it, the company found themselves faces with a single squad of white clad marines who charged forward. Guns blazed, and the squad was mowed down en masse.

Behind their bodies were a series of missile turrets. Kerrigan walked forward. 'Oh, I hate these things. They can sense me even when I'm cloaked. We should take these out.'

Rigging the turrets up with explosives, the group distanced themselves and set them off. There was a terrific explosion which could be seen for miles. Then they pressed on to yet another bridge. Across it they could see a vulture waiting.

'Let me take this,' said Raynor 'I'm up for some single combat.'

'Showoff.' muttered Commander 'Do what you want.'

Raynor drove his bike forward and paused just out of range of the other bike, as both of them gunned their engines. Then they raced towards each other, firing their grenades. There were two explosions in rapid succession and then the bikes passed each other. As he slowed to a halt Raynor turned to glanced at the bike far behind him.

It exploded into flames.

'…So is he usually like this?' asked Kerrigan.

'Usually?' asked Commander 'He never stops.'

They pressed across the bridge and into one of the synthetic forests which outlying worlds were outfitted with as part of the terraforming projects. As they did so, Kerrigan took point, looking around with her gun. Suddenly she halted and raised one hand. 'There is a wraith up ahead. I'll take care of this.'

Then she disappeared from sight. They watched with interest as the wraith hovered in place. Suddenly it took fire from some unknown source and in a panic flew some distance away before scanning for its attacker. Another shot sent it fleeing further still, and another sent it fleeing into the distance far away.

A few moments later Kerrigan faded into sight before them. 'Alright, we're done here. Lets move out.' Silence. Kerrigan sighed. 'Apologies, you give the orders Commander.'

'Lets keep moving.' said Commander.

They made their way out of the forest and into open plains of grass. As they turned east, they soon came within sight of extensive fortifications. However there was only one missile turret to speak of. Commander considered things. 'Alright, Jim I want you to advance a little ahead of the formation. That bike of yours will absorb their fire while our marines advance behind you and assault it.

With any luck we should be able to reduce the outlying fortifications without too much trouble.'

'We don't have enough firepower to take out that whole force.' noted Raynor.

'We don't have to.' said Kerrigan 'Once you get rid of the missile turret, I'll take care of the rest.'

'Then lets get moving.' said Commander.

Raynor advanced ahead of them and soon came under fire, as impaler rounds bounced off the neo steel frame of his vulture. The marines came up from behind and opened fire en masse. Their combined might tore through the walls after a few moments of concentrated firepower. Their cover destroyed, a number of firebats raced out at them, only to be gunned down. Several marines were shot dead as well.

Finally they turned their attention to the missile turret and opened fire. After a few moments of shooting, their assault took its toll on the turret, and it exploded into flames.

'Alright Kerrigan, your free to-' began Raynor. 'She's gone.'

They waited around for a few moments, unsure of what had happened. It occurred to Commander that she might have taken a stray round to the head. Yet he couldn't see her body. At that moment there was a scream over his radio, and the sound of a silenced shot.

'I've taken care of business on this end, Commander.' said Kerrigan 'I think the Antigans are ready to back us up too.'

'Thats right,' said a voice. 'we've tolerated these Confederate goons long enough!'

At that moment fire opened up from the top of the cliffs, down on the Confederate defenders. Commanders forces moved forward to assault as the battle turned completely against the Confederates. Caught in a pincer movement, Alpha Squadrons defenses were driven in, and the Antigan Colony retaken.

Finally they all met up together at the top of the ridge, by the Command Center.

'Commander,' said the Adjutant 'I'm picking up a large Confederate strike force advancing on our position.'

'Well their not wasting any time.' reflected Kerrigan ruefully.

It was only a few minutes before the assault on the cliffs took place. A great tide of firebats and marines and vultures descended and charged up at them in a disorderly assault. It was a massacre, plain and simple. There was only one way up the ridge, and it was guarded by many bunkers filled with Antigan forces. The Confederates died in droves, and didn't inflict so much as a single casualty.

Then all of a sudden gunfire broke out from the northwest, and Commander looked up to see a force of Alpha Squadron marines attacking them from behind. The Confederates had landed troops on the cliffs to the west and snuck them around their perimeter. 'Raynor, take your forces and wipe them out! Kerrigan, go with him!'

The Antigans rallied, and the assault was driven back, though not without casualties. And all the while the slaughter far below continued without end. At last it came to an end. Commander met with a number of SCV's next.

'You, I want you to begin construction of a bunker on the western side of the settlement. I don't want another assault breaking through.' He breathed. 'Adjutant, scan the enemy lines. Tell me if you find any sign of a weakness in their defense.'

'Scanning… tactical analysis indicates that the Confederates have a mining operation just east of their main base. It is heavily guarded, but lacks all stealth detection.'

 _'_ _Commander this is Matt Horner of the Sons of Korhal wraith squadrons,'_ said a voice over the. _'I've been ordered to put my forces at your disposal.'_

'Good,' said Commander 'Horner, I want you to take your wraiths and clear the area west of the main Confederate base. Use you're cloaking fields, and destroy everything you find there. Once you've done that, we can commence with the rest of the operation.'

 _'_ _Understood Commander, Horner out.'_

Commander breathed in, then out. Then he made another call. 'Arcturus, I need some of those dropships you used to transport the refugees. ASAP would be nice, before Alpha Squadron can get reinforcements. Fill them up with my boys from the former colonial militia.'

 _'_ _Dropships are on route, Commander.'_ said Mengsk. _'Arrival time estimated two hours.'_

'I can wait.' muttered Commander.

And wait they did. There were several more probing assaults upon Antiga Prime's main city, however none of them succeeded. As the stalemate continued word came in of other smaller revolutions taking place in outlying colony bases. The yolk of the Confederacy was being thrown off with a vengeance. The core of Alpha Squadron's forces, however, were here in this place.

If they beat them here, the colony would be free.

'Jim,' said Commander 'I want you to be first in the assault against the Alpha Squadron base camp. You're good at individual tactics.'

'Right,' said Raynor 'I'll handle it.'

'I'll go as well.' said Kerrigan.

'No you won't,' said Commander firmly. 'you are second in command of the Sons of Korhal and you can't be so easily repaired if you get damaged.'

'I'm second in command of the Sons of Korhal.' said Kerrigan 'I'll do what I like.'

'Fine, whatever,' said Commander 'try not to get yourself killed, god forbid you make me happy.'

Finally the dropships arrived. Commander watched Raynor and Kerrigan board the transports and then observed on a monitor an image transmitted by the Hyperion. The dropships arrived upon a Confederate outpost which had been reduced to ruins. The marines were unloaded with Raynor at the head and advanced west in great ranks. As they did so, they encountered a number of spider mines, but these were destroyed before they could activate.

Finally they hit the base. There was a terrific firefight as shot were exchanged between Alpha Squadron and the Sons of Korhal. However it could hardly be called a battle. Alpha Squadron was exhausted from its assaults, which had ended in their total defeat. The defense melted away beneath the onslaught, and soon the base was torn to ribbons by the vicious assault.

Kerrigan and Raynor led the assault, and cheers no doubt were sounding from the troops. It had been so easy. The wake of victory gave the Commander a bitter aftertaste.

 **Authors Note:**

Holy crap its been a long time since I updated this. I guess I just got really sick of having an out of chronological order fanfic which remained incomplete. And whats more, as of this moment, I have two separate versions of Rebel Yell running. Their basic story is largely the same, but the background and fluff text is largely different. Mar Sara in this story, for instance, is a far higher density colony than in canon with a much higher population. To the end of differentiating them, I've decided to relabel this one just Rebel Yell, while the new one will be called Starcraft: Rebel Yell.

The decision to have the Commander not really like Kerrigan all that much comes from the fact that the Commander is supposed to be more like Mengsk than he is like Raynor. He is specifically characterized as a good counterpart to Mengsk.

If by some chance you read both versions, I'd very much appreciate it if you told me which one you liked better, and for what reasons.

 **EDIT:**

Added a line of dialogue I forgot about in the original mission. Thats all.


	6. Norad II

**Chapter Six:**

In the darkened meeting room of the Sons of Korhal secret hideout, the group assembled to sort through reports. It was a lengthy process which unfortunately was the larger part of being a commander than actual commander. The successful revolution which had occurred only a few days prior now had the unfortunate duel problems of setting up a new government, and figuring out what to do about the scourge of alien xenomxrphs now rampaging across the sector. Both problems short term solution thus far seemed to be to listen to Arcturus Mengsk.

What had been a moderately large terrorist organization had overnight become a planetary government with contacts across the sector.

The Adjutant supplied by the former Magistrate of Mar Sara brought in transmissions. 'It appears that the Confederates are in a state of panic about the Antigan Revolt.' said the Adjutant, as data whirred onto their computer screens. 'I'm picking up a large number of Confederate transmissions between their outposts and their Headquarters on Tarsonis. Most of the transmissions are heavily coded, but wait, here's something.'

 _'_ _This is General Duke calling from the Alpha Sqaudron Flagship Norad_ II.' said a familiar old voice. _'We've crash-landed and are being hit hard by the Zerg. Request immediate backup from anyone receiving this signal call! Repeat, this is a priority one distress call!'_

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara, turned Commander of the Sons of Korhal looked at Duke's expression, and allowed himself some small measure of satisfaction that Duke was effectively in the exact same position that he had been. Then he realized that Duke was in the exact same position that he was in, and nobody should have to go through that.

'Zerg here?' asked Raynor with an unprecedented amount of sadistic glee. 'Serves em right. Bout time they got a taste of what its like to be in there mixin' it up.'

Raynor hadn't been there for those terrifying hours during which over a dozen different stations had come under attack by the Zerg. The Magistrate had gone from base to base, city to city, commanding the defense as best he could. Thousands upon thousands of Citizens had been in need of evacuation, and stalemating the Zerg was an essential part of it. A part which the Magistrate had played alone.

Raynor was out of line here.

The former Magistrate was just about to say so, however Arcturus Mengsk got there first. 'Jim, I want you to move in, and save that base.' His voice was grim, but determined.

'I'm positive I didn't hear that right.' Said Raynor flatly.

'Arcturus have you lost your mind?!' asked Kerrigan.

'Listen, I know Duke's a coldhearted bastard but an entire Colony shouldn't have to suffer for that.' said Arcturus quickly. 'Besides, a Confederate General could prove to be a powerful ally. This is an opportunity we cannot miss.'

'I don't like this at all.' said Kerrigan.

The Magistrate would rather kill himself than take the opinions of a professional serial killer. Kerrigan needed to shut up. And he was just about to say so, however Arcturus Mengsk was evidently thinking the same thing.

'I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to do it.' said Mengsk flatly, before he rose and departed the room.

Oh right, Kerrigan was a telepath. That means that she heard what the Magistrate had been thinking. Well that was convenient.

'Yes sir.' said Kerrigan, voice petulant.

'Great,' said Raynor 'lets get this over with.'

The two of them filed out of the room, and for a moment the former Magistrate tapped his foot. 'Am I even on this council anymore?!' He wondered aloud.

* * *

The Sons of Korhal expeditionary force made contact with Alpha Squadron after a heated skirmish with the Zerg. Remarkably no one was killed, though several firebats were seriously wounded by hydralisk spines. The former Magistrate turned Commander was not a combatant, and spent most of his time in the back seat of Raynor's Vulture, coordinating the battle. Not that there was much to coordinate.

'All right ladies and gentlemen,' the Commander said 'our primary objective is to secure the Alpha Squadron base camp. My intelligence suggests that several buildings are on fire, so we need to make contact with SCV's Asap. Head for the command center, Jim.'

'Yeah, yeah,' said Raynor, who was not in any particular hurry to save General Edmund Duke.

It took about forty-five seconds, maybe a little less, for Alpha Squadron to realize that they were outgunned in more ways than one. The Commander leaped off of Jim's bike, and rushed toward a Man dressed in Marine Armor. 'You there, what is your rank?'

'I am a Lieutenant in Alpha Squadron. My name is irrelevant. What is your purpose here?'

'In the name of the Sons of Korhal and the Koprolu Liberation Front, I am hereby taking command of this installation and all its equipment.' said the Commander.

'We don't answer to you.' said the Lieutenant, raising his rifle.

By the time the rifle had been lowered, the Commander had brought up his pistol.

'Listen, all routes of escape have been cut off,' said the Commander 'your Command Ship has crash-landed down a little over three miles north of here through heavy defenses. The Confederacy has abandoned you. Either you may live with us, or we can all perish right here. Right now.' He motioned with the pistol. 'Or we can keep arguing until the Zerg take it out of our hands. I'd say we have bigger problems than the Confederacy's inability to help its own soldiers.

Wouldn't you agree Lieutenant?'

The Lieutenant raised his gauss rifle so its barrel was by his ear. 'Very well. What are your orders?'

'You're engineering bay is on fire,' said the commander 'Get some SCV's over there and put it out, before initiating emergency repairs. Raynor, get your men evenly spaced into Bunkers on the eastern side, Lieutenant, take your Squad and guard the northern region.'

Then the Commander withdrew from his bag a laptop and opened it. Logging in he opened up his personalized command unit, allowing him an overhead view of the battlefield. Raynor came up alongside him. 'If we're doing this we'd better hurry. That ship won't last long against those Zerg.'

'Hold your horses, cowboy.' said the Magistrate as he reordered the Alpha Squadron into defensive positions via Alpha Sqaudron's cybernetic connections. 'General Edmund Duke can hold out for thirty minutes I'm sure.'

'Cute.' said Raynor. 'What do you need thirty minutes for?'

'I'm sick of running from these monsters, Jim. So I'm going to call in every contact I have and blast both Zerg hives into oblivion.' He quickly began accessing the controls implanted into brain panned marines. Much as he hated to utilize that kind of tech, brain panned marines represented the vast majority of Alpha Squadron's soldiers.

Even now a steady stream of white clad marines now emerged from the Barracks. 'Hey Raynor, you know whats funny?'

'What?' said Jim as the sound of gauss rifle fire erupted beyond them.

An advance force of Zerg had rushed the Bunkers and were being deflected. By the time Raynor looked up they were already blasted to meat.

'The Confederate big wigs insist on calling brain panned Marines 'neurally resocialized' instead of brain panned like people in the Colonies. Guess which one gets underlined red in spellcheck?' Raynor actually laughed at that. 'Seriously though, I need you to get in your Vulture and scout as far as the Zerg bases. Don't start a fight, and keep an eye out for Sunken Colonies.'

'Sunken what?'

'Oh right, I forgot. You weren't there for the evacuation.' said the Commander 'Sunken Colonies are a Zerg defensive organic structure. They can tear through a Marine suit with two slices. If they can shred a squad of marines, then with a couple of zerglings they can shred your bike.'

'Ouch,' said Raynor 'Why me?'

'Because your bike is the fastest thing we have here obviously. Thats the problem with being elite, everyone needs your help. Now get going.'

As Raynor drove off, the Magistrate initiated the protocol for increasing marine range. He would never understand why the long range weaponry upgrade would not be built into all gauss rifles. No Commander worth their salt would be caught dead without using it.

Then he made contact with another person. 'Mr Hill,' He said 'I have little time for pleasantries.'

'What do you need?'

'I need you to get in contact with every single mercenary group and rogue pirate, and the Mar Sara refugees who are armed on Antiga Prime.' said the Commander 'Tell them the Sons of Korhal are beginning a full on purge of the xenomorphs hives in this region of Antiga.

Anyone who wants to do a little public service is welcome to join in, and should head to these coordinates. Standard wages, of course.'

'Gotcha, this is going to be a popular assignment.' Said Hill 'Lots of people are sick of the Zerg.'

By now the Alpha Squadron base had been mostly pulled to full alert, and their weapons were occasionally heard as the zerg tried and failed to break through their defenses. More and more of the zerg continued to arrive, however, and the Commander suspected that if he were not quick, the defenses might be overwhelmed. He quickly allocated more Alpha Squadron marines to the perimeter, and in particular set guards on the southern section of the base, just in case the enemy snuck by.

 _'_ _Command, this is Raynor on an open channel. I've found the Xenomorph bases. Had a run in with these flying snake things, but I outran them-'_

'That would be the mutalisks.' said the Commander 'Pesky things, especially in large numbers.'

 _'_ _Right, great, fine, whatever, the scouting mission was a freaking nightmare man, the zerglings are faster than they used to be, and I nearly got torn up by a group of Hydralisks. They have two primary bases, one of them on the low ground, through a pass that looks a bit cramped to menuever big machinery. The other-'_

'Is on the high ground and heavily defended by crucially placed sunken colonies. It also has a new zerg type I'm not familiar with on it.' Noted the Commander, cutting him off.

 _'_ _What the… how did you-'_

 _'_ _All units come equipped with an pre made scanner for the commanders use. Whatever the unit sees, the commander sees.'_ Explained the Adjutant helpfully.

 _'_ _But this isn't just some standard issue Vulture! I made this thing from scratch when I was a kid, and I've been upgrading it ever since! There isn't a piece of hardware put into this device which I haven't gazed over every inch of!'_

 _'_ _All units come equipped with an pre made scanner for the Commanders use.'_ Repeated the Adjutant _'Whatever the unit sees, the Commander sees.'_

 _'_ _Will you quit calling us units? We're not just-'_

 _'_ _All units come equipped with an pre made scanner for the Commanders use.'_ Repeated the Adjutant _'Whatever the unit sees, the Commander sees.'_

 _'_ _Stupid AI.'_

'Look, just get back here Jim,' said the Commander as a dropship from the Sons of Korhal arrived, carrying a force of marines with state of the art equipment. 'I need you for the next stage of our plan.'

 _'_ _Yeah, all right fine. Just as long as it doesn't involve me biting a sunken colony tentacle.'_

'Of course not.' Lied the Commander smoothly, before switching channels to the SCV commander. 'All right people, you've only recently arrived so I'll be brief. Half of you are to remain here, and focus on unloading supplies and equipment for the army. As soon as you see Raynor, you are to immediately repair his Bike. Take the opportunity to install the new armor upgrades, while your at it. The rest of you are to be escorted by marines up to the northern way. From there you are to begin construction of a secondary base of operations. Keep in mind it must include at least five Supply Depots to keep our armies in the field well supplied. Construction of a barracks and bunker is also advised, as our scouts have reported zerg forces in the area.'

He cut the channel, and switched his attention to a third effect. 'Arcturus, do you have those squads of marines and fireboats ready for me yet?'

'Nearly,' said Mengsk 'the suiting up process takes approximately forty-seconds to complete, so it may take some time.'

'Just send them down by dropship as soon as you can.' said the Commander 'And leave the dropships.'

'Well, obviously.' said Arcturus 'Do you require anything else?'

'Yes, I need a comsat scan of the cliffs above my position.' said Commander 'See if you can find any weak spots.'

'Actually my people have already discovered a way by which we could bypass the Zerg defenses entirely.' mused Arcturus 'If we were quick enough-'

'We're not bypassing their defenses.' said the Commander grimly. 'I don't want a single Zerg to leave this place alive. I want payback for Mar Sara. Once we've cleared the area, we can rescue Edmund Duke in style.'

'…Very well,' said Arcturus 'I suppose it will save more lives to destroy the zerg in any case.'

'And it might help the evacuation.' said the Commander.

'…Evacuation?' asked Arcturus 'May I ask what gave you the impression that we are evacuating this planet.'

'Don't give me that,' said the Commander 'you've been sending recordings of the same message you sent me to the Antigans who stayed out of the conflict with the Confederacy. Because they are in the same position. You are planning to evac this place, aren't you?'

'…It is true. The Protoss have been advancing on the planet, we detected their fleets encroaching some days ago.' said Arcturus 'Given that we cannot afford to fight both Zerg and Protoss at the same time, combined with the Protoss' destruction of Chau Sara, I believe that keeping the Terran populace and military structure intact is a higher priority than defeating them.

If the colonies evacuate, they can reform into a stronger defensive position later. If we spend all our strength here, then we will be picked off one by one.'

'It's an excellent strategy, one which George Washington would be proud of,' said the Commander 'However I refuse to base the future of humanity off of the assumption that all we can do is cut and run. We need a moment of triumph here, if only to keep peoples hopes up for the future. Commander out.'

He shut down the device. At that moment he suddenly felt a terrible sense of foreboding. Not since Mar Sara had he felt this, and now he stood, tense, putting his hand to his pistol. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. 'Hello, I'm Michael Liberty. Can I trouble you for an interview-'

'No.' said the Commander.

He then immediately began searching for something to do that would take him out of Michael Liberty's line of sight. When the Commander had a place in the Cabinet of the Universe, people like Michael Liberty would be shot. And that was an encouraging thought.

* * *

The taking of the pass was a long, and expertly timed process. James Raynor arrived, and much to his chagrin immediately had his bike upgraded with new armor plating. He was then put in contact with a force of marines, and assigned a formation with his vulture in a prominent place at the front of the line.

Also much to his chagrin, since this meant that when the squad assaulted the foremost sunken colony it targeted him. And only him, which was worse. Four times the sunken tentacles slashed and stabbed at his bike, tearing at the armor as his grenades were fired to blast it. The marines gunfire was endless as the colony finally burned away.

'This is Raynor to Command,' said Raynor 'The sunken colony is destroyed.'

'Excellent, just give me a minute to get an SCV crew down there.' said Commander 'Meet them halfway for me, I need you to be the spearhead on the next assault further up the path.'

'I hate you.' said Raynor 'And I'm sending you a bill for my bikes repairs.'

'The Sons of Korhal will cover it.' was the reply.

'Damn you Magistrate, don't do this to me!' snapped Raynor 'This heavy assault stuff was bad enough under the Confederacy. I don't want to go through it again.'

'Well, it takes about two slashes from a sunken colony to reduce a Marine to meat.' said the Commander 'So that means you saved… hmm, about two to three marines who can now return home to their wives, sons, etc etc. And my assault momentum isn't slowed by having to replace the dead and wounded.

So its win win.'

'Except for me.' muttered Raynor, but he took his point.

While the altogether unqualified SCV's mended Raynor's Vulture with unqualified hands that scratched the paint job even worse than it was already, the Marines had to fend off a force of zerglings and hydralisks. Fortunately with their armor and weapons upgraded no one was killed.

Soon Raynor turned his bike around and rushed back into the fight. A group of firebats joined in the next assault, and they charged forward with him. Once again, the sunken colony only targeted Raynor, and the resulting conflict led to no deaths. Though some were wounded when a surprise attack by Zerglings assaulted their flank.

Finally the sunken colony fell.

Within moments after that occurred a force of SCV's arrived and began construction of a bunker. The zerg swarmed like a great tide, and Raynor and co. moved forward to begin firing into their midsts. The ensuing battle took only a scant few moments and it was here that they suffered their first casualties. Several Marines who had let down their guard were torn apart by the claws of Zerglings, while Hydralisks caught two through the throat. Even so the Marines slew many more than they lost. Finally the bunker was completed, and the worst wounded of the Marines were set within to a defensive position.

Soon a contingent of marines and firebats arrived on foot as reinforcements. Beyond the bunker they could see the zerg hive, and the zerg soon sent reinforcements of their own. Guns flashed endlessly in the waning daylight, as Grenades were fired into the midst of the Zerg forces. Wave after wave of the xenomorphs rushed them, and not just from the Hive before them. Others, their skin brownish orange, swarmed down from the hills and had to be repulsed. The violet zerg both continued their assault, as more and more Marines arrived.

Though it was exhausting fighting, their defensive position grew and grew, until finally the Zerg tide slackened.

 _'_ _All units advance!'_

The command came in, and there was a roar the Marines burst from cover, and Raynor drove at their front. They converged upon the violet Zerg Hive, their weapons tearing through its flesh buildings with vicious effectiveness. They only needed one wave to sweep over the defenses, destroying all who stood before them.

A number of zerg eggs hatched, and new warrior strains rushed to join the fray. But they were gunned down with vicious efficiency by the Marines. Until at long last the zerg hive was destroyed and all that remained of it was dust in the wind. Then, after six minutes and fifty-nine seconds of brutal fighting, on the seventh minute they rested.

There were a precious few moments of calm as the marines leaned back against the wall, breathing in exhaustion as still more marines surged through the now secured pass. SCV's arrived and began establishing the beginnings of a base camp.

'Are we done now?' asked a marine finally, raising his communicator. 'Command are we done here?'

 _'_ _Negative, at least in an overall_ manner.' replied Commander _'I've got a different crew I'm bringing down to take out the second hive cluster. You just hold your position. You'll be notified if anything comes up.'_

'I swear I've heard that somewhere before.' muttered the Marine.

'Easy man.' said Raynor 'The Commander's not like Duke. If he says he'll handle it, he'll handle it. For now I'm going to scout ahead, and see whats over that ridge. We may be able to set up a second line of defense there.'

* * *

The goliath as a vehicle was considered the military symbol of the Confederacy. It was big, it was dangerous, and it was extremely overrated as combat vehicles went. The fact was that having a mass of marines was usually a lot simpler, a lot cheaper, and nearly as credible a threat to air and ground. The proper use of stim packs could easily account for any advantage the Goliath's anti-air missiles supplied.

There was only one, slight, problem.

The Commander didn't use stim packs. At all. He didn't even make them available to his Marines, because of their long term effects on the nervous system. Personally the Magistrate had always been of the view that one shouldn't do drugs, and this view from his high school days had stuck with him to a military career.

More importantly, it was his view that massed goliaths could be a very effective attack force, provided one was meticulous in how one arrayed them in battle, and kept SCV's on hand to repair them. It was a largely theoretical strategy which the Commander was staking his life on.

He had judged the pass to be too narrow and unreliable a passageway to justify the use of the lumbering machines. Which was why he had arranged for the assembly of a force of twenty Goliath's on the cliffs directly north of his starting position, wasn't it?

Once he'd had that, he quickly annihilated the mutalisks who had been guarding the way north, and after some touch up repairs began making his way slowly along the cliffs. Some ways past the mutalisks they had encountered a paired sunken Colony and spore Colony.

He took a minute or two to array his goliaths in a great line just out of reach. Then he opened communications. _'All Goliaths forward march! Encircle and destroy!'_

 _'_ _Acknowledged.' c_ ame the reply as they moved forward.

He could see the sunken colony near him, and kept his hand on the trigger. They were two hundred feet away from range. Then one hundred, then fifty, and then they were on them.

He pulled the fire control moments before he felt a tentacle slash his machine. The whole framework shuddered as a withering barrage was opened up on the sunken colony by those goliaths in range. Even so it endured throughout the attack, and returned again to slash the Goliath.

The other Goliaths came within range and another barrage decimated it, though not before it had slashed his Goliath one final time.

 _'_ _SCV 123, I require immediate repairs. Make it quick, we're on a time table.'_

It had only just occurred to the Commander that if he got killed in some insignificant skirmish that the results could be disastrous for the Mar Sarans and Sons of Korhal as a whole. The sound of the SCV melding wiring and melting metal back into its proper shape and place sounded disturbingly like the sound of a zerglings claws on a bunker.

Finally, however, it ended and the Commander reorganized his attack force and continued their advance toward the Zerg incursions.

 _'_ _Sir,'_ said a Marine _'Raynor is ordering us to establish a defensive perimeter on the cliffs. Is that okay?'_

'Of course its all right. Look, if Raynor is telling you to throw yourselves into the jaws of a Hydralisk, then you can complain to me. But if he wants to make some adjustments to an overall strategy, thats his call to make. He is the ranking officer in that location after all. Command out.'

He switched off the com, and focused on what lay ahead. The cliffs here narrowed out, and there were multiple pillars of rock established that would break up the formation. 'Thats going to be a bit of a problem.' He pressed the com button. 'Adjutant, I need a comsat sweep of what lies beyond those rocks. Make it fast.'

 _'_ _Affirmative.'_

Even as he spoke Hydralisks and Zerglings rushed from around the bend and began attacking the formation. The Goliath's opened fire en masse and quickly decimated the creatures, but more came behind them. In the distance he could see Raynor's defenses being erected. The marines were firing into the zerg from the other side, forcing sections of the enemy column to break off to attack them.

 _'_ _Comsat Sweep completed. Commander, I am detecting a dense structure of enemy fortifications. Multiple spore colonies protect several strategically placed sunken colonies. Given the disruptive nature of the rocks, it is unlikely that you will be able to launch an effective attack without significant casualties.'_

'Well, that doesn't bode well.' Muttered the Commander. 'All right people, here's the plan: Goliaths will advance ahead of the main group, while SCV's repair them from behind. If you-'

Then the mutalisks showed up, swarming down with many vicious slashing spores that tore into the armor, lodging in place. His goliath's windshield cracked, as they turned and opened fire. Missiles were launched en masse and the zerg flyers were quickly destroyed.

'-if you start taking too much damage, try to withdraw. We'll keep and avenue open for you to pull out. We're going to have to go through those rocks one way or another, so try to arrive all at the same time.'

Even he was disappointed in his plan. He might as well have said 'try to win harder' for all the good it was likely to do. He was probably going to lose some people here. This was going to be a brutal slugging match.

The battle for the second hive cluster took most of the rest of the day. The goliaths proved difficult to menuaver in, and several were destroyed while the main force was repulsed. Repairs were made, and marines called in to account for the losses. Three times their forces attacked the Zerg, and three times they were repulsed. Finally they destroyed one of the sunken colonies, and after that their job became easier. Even so they lost a number of good men in the process, and the ensuing bloodshed was among the hardest battles they had faced so far.

Throughout it all, the Commander just wanted to get it over with. So the real question he had to ask himself later, and then ask Raynor as they stood upon the new forward base camp was:

'Was it worth it?'

Raynor gave him an incredulous look. 'Have you looked at the Confederate Ratios for acceptable marine losses, man. Thirty squads decimated is no big deal for them. You only lost three, in situations far worse than the Confederacy ran away from.'

'Yes, yes, I know.' said the Commander 'But… well… early in the mission Arcturus Mengsk gave me a plan which could have allowed us to bypass the Zerg entirely, leave the Hives intact, and get out without destroying anything.

I rejected it because I wanted to see the zerg dead after all they have put us through. But… we could have achieved our objective without destroying the zerg. Couldn't we?'

Raynor blinked, then looked around. 'Commander, look down from the cliff, down to the base over there. Before today the men were confident that we were all doomed. That all we could do was ride out the storm, and hope we didn't end up dead at the end of it, at best. Down there now they are talking with countless newcomers about how Raynor's Rangers and Commanders Cossacks destroyed two zerg hives with minimum casualties. Word of that is going to spread, and before long we're going to inspire other people to do the same. Thats what we call hope.'

'Commanders what now?' Asked the Commander.

'Yeah, apparently there has been a bit of side taking in the groups.' said Raynor 'The general consensus is that we're operating on two different chains of command, and that we're close allies under the same cause.'

'Raynor, when I gave you authority I didn't give you permission to starscream me.' said the Commander flatly.

'Look I had nothing to do with it. But still, you have to admit we both have our own styles.'

'Styles which only happened when I was commanding you.' said the Commander flatly. 'I don't suppose you have a plan for dealing with extracting Duke.'

'Actually I kind of already initiated one.' said Raynor awkwardly.

'What?' said the Commander.

'Look its no big deal okay. Its just I was looking over the maps and I noticed that there was a spore colony that was well out of the range of any sunken colony. Everyone was pressing me for orders, so I ordered them to land on that section and take out the sunken xolonies on the way. I figured we could clear a way across for the Dropships-'

The Commander hijacked the com out of Raynor's hands. 'This is the Commander, Raynor's Raiders, status report.'

 _'_ _We've destroyed a sunken colony here, sir. Lost a couple of firebats in the process, but its what we signed up for. Where is Raynor-'_

'Raynor is indisposed.' said the Commander flatly, ignoring Raynor's annoyed look. He made a few adjustments on his screen. 'I'm going to send additional soldiers to support you. We're not just going to clear a path through these Zerg, I want every single Zerg structure in this region destroyed. Understand? Every. Single. One.

Down to the last creep colony.'

 _'_ _Yes sir.'_

By this time more transports had arrived and were now unloading Marines. A squad of wraiths had accompanied them.

'As for a strategy, I want you to focus on obliterating Spore Colonies without coming into range of the Sunken Colonies. If we can annihilate their air defenses, the Wraiths can pick them off with relative ease. Wraith Commander, what is your name?'

 _'_ _Matt Horner sir.'_

'Well Matt Horner, I need you to focus on dealing with the scourge's in the area. Those things could easily blast a dropship out of the sky if we're not careful. They could also blast you out of the sky so be careful.' He paused. 'Hang on, I just realized that I invested some measure of authority in one of my subordinates. Does this mean I have to give you your own military unit?'

 _'_ _No sir, it doesn't.'_

'Are you sure?' asked the Commander 'How about Matt's Marksmen? Horners Hornets? Please, if you have a better idea for names by all means start the ball rolling.'

 _'_ _I'm fine sir.'_

'Good, because contrary to what seems to be popular belief, a military organization is not a democracy. Before anyone else goes and creates sub factions within our organization, I would appreciate it if I was consulted in the future.

That said I hereby recognize the authority of Raynor's Raiders as strictly subordinate to my own. Commander out.'

Raynor gave him an awed look as the Commander tossed him back his com. 'How did you know it was Matt Horner who was spreading around the idea?'

'I didn't. But you were meant to think I did.' said the Commander. 'Now lets get a dropship and take direct command over the operation. I want you to arrive at Alpha Sqaudron's location _before_ the Dropships.'

'Me?' asked Raynor with sarcastic awe. 'Well of course.'

The Commander brushed him off as he directed a Dropship to follow them.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief General Edmund Duke was neither stupid or incompetent. The fact was that Alpha Sqaudron had a very good record at breaking through planetary defenses. It was just that once you got into craggy and unpredictable locations their attacks tended to fall apart. Moreover, even when Alpha Sqaudron won a major victory, Omega Sqaudron would, as always, be in orbit around the Planet to take credit for said victory.

And because Alpha Sqaudron 'never won a victory' the Confederate bigwigs would hand Omega Sqaudron a Medal while ignoring Duke's testimony that he had, in fact, done all the work.

If Duke had been stupid or incompetent he would have sent his distress signal over a Confederate Channel, rather than an open Channel. Because, deep down inside, he knew that the Confederacy would never stoop to help one of its own. Because he'd spent year after year working dutifully for the Confederacy, watching his soldiers get mowed down in every hellish mission, denied even the ability to upgrade their weapons past the basic level. Too many people wanted a new promotion for the monstrously corrupt regime to try and save him.

And frankly, because he didn't care what the Confederate Regulations thought of his chances of survival. He didn't want to die down here, having spent years defending Tarsonis from worthless rebels just because someone said he wasn't worth saving. Duke had been paralyzed from the waist down from a gauss rifle shot fired years ago in his first major battle. If he had followed a suggestion from Arcturus Mengsk, it might not have happened. Even so he had kept up command of Alpha Squadron, and commanded from the sidelines continuously for years.

Unfortunately for him, he may have gotten more than he bargained for.

The Sons of Korhal arrived, and began systematically decimating the Zerg. They paid no heed to the crash site, and Duke's sensors indicated that they were _winning._ Little by little, building by building, the forces of the Sons of Korhal had rallied the entire planet into destroying the zerg hives.

And then they reached Duke.

They were on the cliffs above them. And the red armored marines bore the symbol of Mar Sara on their shoulder pads. The symbol of Mar Sara was on the Wraiths in the sky. On the dropships that were approaching them. And then former Marshall Jim Raynor arrived with a contingent of Marines, also bearing the symbol of Mar Sara. They marched past the bunkers and lowered their weapons.

Duke held back a gulp. If they wanted to, the men of Mar Sara could tear them limb from limb. It would be easy. Several white clad soldiers were brought to the cliffs, surrounded and flanked by red clad marines. The Confederates had abandoned them to the Zerg, and now things had come full circle. They were doomed.

Then a Dropship, bearing the symbol of the Sons of Korhal arrived. Duke opened a channel. 'Yer about the last people I expected to show up. Whats yer angle here, Mengsk?' He had an angle. Mengsk always did. It was why he had survived as long as he had.

'Our angle?!' Snarled Jim Raynor over the com. 'I'll give you an angle you slimy confederate piece of-'

'Jim enough! I'll handle this.' said Arcturus Mengsk with a voice of authority. 'The Confederacy is falling apart Duke. Its Colonies are in open revolt. The Zerg are rampaging unchecked. What would have happened here today if we hadn't shown up?'

'Your point.' said Duke, wanting to cut to the chase.

'I'm giving you a choice, Duke. You can return to the Confederacy and lose, or you can join us, and help save our entire race from being overrun by the Zerg. I don't think its a difficult decision.'

'Join forces with you?' asked Duke 'I'm a General for gods sake.' He certainly wasn't going to fork over his loyalty without bargaining for it. It was the least he owed the Confederacy.

'A General without an army.' said Mengsk 'I'm offering you a position in my cabinet. Not just some backwater post. Don't test my patience, Edmund.'

Well what was Duke going to say? No? 'Alright Mengsk,' said Duke 'you've got a deal.'

'You've made the right choice. General Duke.' said Mengsk.

'I can't believe your really gonna trust this snake.' Hissed Raynor.

'Don't worry Jim.' said Arcturus 'He's our snake now.'

They were victorious.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

So yeah, here is my attempt at a Novelization of Rebel Yell. I started with Norad II because its one of my favorite missions, not just because you get to give the Zerg some well deserved payback, but also because it really is Arcturus Mengsk's finest hour. When all of his pragmatic and nominal hero moments culminate in a scene which really demonstrates why he is one of the best video game villains out there. Because you are totally rooting for him.

Also, how effective the scene is largely depends on your playthrough. If you just speed ran through it, while holding your defenses in place, by the end of the campaign you really don't feel like you accomplished anything. Because you didn't bite the bullet and destroy the Zerg bases, or try to fight them at all. As a result you really only helped the zerg at the end.

If you destroyed one zerg base, and sealed off the other one, you feel like you've done your part and no one could reasonably expect you to do any more. Consequently protecting the zerg towards the end is more tolerable.

Or, and this is the method I have always preferred, you can obliterate the Zerg from existence on that map. And that is really where the scene is at its best. Because Arcturus Mengsk has just demonstrated how utterly badass the Sons of Korhal can be, through you. Thus his recruiting of Duke feels less like an act of getting an upgrade, or an act of desperation, and more like a crowning achievement for the Sons of Korhal after already dealing every major threat a serious blow in the previous missions.

As for the bit about Raynor's Rangers and 'Commanders Cossacks' as the fan nickname goes, I decided to portray the splitting up of the Good Guys leadership towards the end as one that is forshadowed during this period. Thus the Commander still maintains authority via his appointment by Arcturus Mengsk, an authority which comes into question once they break with Mengsk at Raynor's urging.

And yes, this novelization is occuring out of chronological order. I'll organize it later, if I get to the point. Speaking of chronology, you may notice that I have said that Arcturus is also planning the evacuation of Antiga. This is because I've been of the opinion that there are other battles being fought as you play through the game. For every mission that you play, some other poor sap is desperately trying to hold out for thirty minutes until Sons of Korhal dropships arrive. At the same time, plenty of places just like backwater station are under attack.

Once you accept this, you can imagine virtually any interpretation for how well the Sons of Korhal fought their battles, and its all cannon. Thus, even if you don't like this Commander, chances are the way you imagined him is also cannon as well. Hell, the Wiki even heavily implies that many people after you are playing rebel yell, even as the other campaigns are happening.

Here's a fun mini game. Every time someone in the briefing room mentions that say, two hours have passed, go and play the Desperate Alliance mission four times. Suddenly you realize that the war didn't just stop for the terrans after Tarsonis got destroyed, it merely went back to square one.

P.S: As for the Magistrate's personality, I honestly developed it on the fly. I decided to make him more like Arcturus Mengsk than Raynor or Kerrigan, because I feel that Mengsk needs a good counterpart.

I tried to make Duke into more of an anti villain, since I've always been of the opinion that he was a noble demon whose competance was underdeclared. After all, he did get the sector swearing loyalty to Arcturus, and Alpha Squadron kicked major ass in the Precursor missions.

And yes, I hate Michael Liberty. I find him an annoying, borderline Mary Sue who steals too much screen time from the relevant people.


End file.
